


Secrets of John

by Lastsyns



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Biting, Chameleon Arch, F/M, Hiding, M/M, Minor Character Death, Recovery, Stabbing, Temporary Character Death - Jack Harkness, Violence, Weevils (Torchwood)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-01-09 15:29:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lastsyns/pseuds/Lastsyns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Doctor tries to hide as a human, the world has other ideas. Now can he save the planet before it is too late?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jack sat alone in a small bar in Cardiff drinking a pint. His back and feet were aching from a long day of chasing down weevils. The Weevil population had grown exponentially the last few years and they were now causing a problem for the citizens of Wales. He groaned as he phone vibrated in his pocket rather then answering it, he reached into his pocket and turned the phone off. He had all ready been killed three times today and really didn't feel like adding a fourth to his total.

It was times like this that he missed Ianto the most. Ianto had always made the deaths easier and he hoped that he had been able to comfort Ianto in his dying hour. Ianto didn't think he would be remembered in a thousand years but Jack knew in his heart that it didn't matter how many years passed, Ianto would always be with him. Ianto had been the only man that he had ever truly loved besides the Doctor and he didn't think he would ever see the Doctor again either. He finished off his pint and ordered a another one.

"One, please," He heard a familiar voice say and he shot up so quickly that he nearly feel off of his stool. He turned to see a man standing at the end of the bar. The man was wearing black jeans and a blue t-shirt. His hair was brushed down but the face was unmistakable, it was the Doctor. Jack stood up and walked casually over to his side.

"Hello Doctor," He said happily. The Doctor didn't answer as he paid for his drink and started to turn and head towards one of the tables. "Doctor, it's me Jack."

The Doctor turned and looked at him and Jack saw the confusion in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I think you have me mistaken for someone else," he grinned. "I just arrived in Cardiff yesterday, name's John."

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack answered offering his hand and taking John's hand firmly in his and shook it. "I'm drinking alone tonight, care to join me?" The Doctor nodded eagerly and followed Jack back to his place at the bar.

"So John, what bring's you to Cardiff," He asked slightly amused and also very confused. Jack was positive that this man was the Doctor. He looked like, walked and even talked like the Doctor. Yet if he was acting as if he didn't know Jack, he was doing a very convincing job.

"I am just traveling around before I head back to London." John answered. "You?"

"Oh, I live in Cardiff," Jack replied.

"I'm sorry," John sighed and Jack couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not so bad here, I get to meet a lot of interesting people."

"Hmmm, that is why I travel," John smiled at him. "But as soon as I return to London, I have been offered a job by UNIT."

"Then you'll read all about me. I know they have files and files of them." Worry crossed John's face and he looked nervously towards the exit. Jack could tell he was judging how far it was from where he sat.

"I work for Torchwood." Jack explained before he had a chance to make a run for it, and John slowly nodded his understanding. He finished off his drink quickly and Jack motioned for the bartender to bring over two more.

"What are you going to be doing for UNIT?" Jack asked casually.

"I haven't been informed yet, not until I go in. I really want to go into their science department though." John told him.

"You don't want to work for UNIT, you don't like guns." Jack insisted as he took another drink.

"How do you know I don't like guns?" John asked him as he eyed Jack skeptically.

"The way your hand shook when you said you were going to work for UNIT, indicates you don't like guns." Jack replied thinking quickly. Luckily for him John laughed.

"You're like Sherlock! What else can you tell me about myself?" John asked and Jack almost choked to hear the flirtiness in his voice. He tried to remind himself that it was John and not The Doctor who was flirting with him. That did nothing to ease the swelling in his pants and he reached down and casually adjusted himself.

"I bet you're a dreamer, who looks at the stars and thinks of what could be out there." Jack took a chance and rested his hand on John's thigh. "I could show you. Come work for me in Torchwood. You could be our scientific adviser and you wouldn't have to use a gun."

"You're offering me a job?" John sounded surprised.

"I can tell you're a good guy John." Jack removed his hand and placed it back on the bar. "Meet me at the Cardiff information booth at seven hundred sharp tomorrow if you're interested." Jack stood and paid for his and John's drinks before hurrying out of the bar. He leaned against the outside wall of the bar as the conversation replayed in his head. From it he had come to two conclusions. Either the Doctor was one hell of a liar, or some strange man named John looked a hell of a lot like the Doctor. Jack was curious of which one it was but the Doctor flirting with him, despite his aching back and legs, he could have danced for joy. He turned and hurried down the street towards the information booth.

The original hub had been destroyed when a bomb had been placed inside of his stomach, not one of his more pleasant deaths. It had taken him and Gwen years of running before they were able to set up a new hub along the rift. Since then Martha and Mickey had also joined Torchwood to take the place of the missing team members. He still hadn't gotten around to hiring anyone else though these last few days had proven they need help.

He hurried through the main entrance in to the Cardiff Information Center. He had debated whether or not to even have it after Ianto's death, but once the main building was done, it just felt wrong not to. The Welshman had always taken pride in the booth so Jack made sure that it was kept clean and stocked in his honor. He walked past the main counter and down the short hallway to the secret door into the hub. This hubs main focal point was again the rift manipulator with its computers but seemed more office like. It reminded him a little of Torchwood one, with its white walls and clean straight walls. He doubted though that they would allow two of their employees to be having sex on the conference room table. He shook his head, he contemplated going to offer them a hand but instead he turned away from Martha and Mickey as he headed to his office. They could have their fun and he would tell them about the strange appearance of the Doctor in the morning.

-DW-

He stood in the middle of the street on a snowy night. In front of him stood a woman slightly shorter with her blonde hair up in a ponytail. She was looking at him with a mixture of fear and hate, for he had just done something he had swore he never would. He had just changed a fix point in time.

"For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious." He explained to her, still feeling smug with himself.

"And there's no one to stop you?" Adelaide had asked him.

"No."

"This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong." Adelaide told him sternly. He didn't like the way she was looking at him.

"That's for me to decide. Now, you'd better get home." He looked towards here home. "Oh, it's all locked up. You've been away. Still, that's easy." Pulling out his sonic, he quickly switched the settings and then unlocked her front door. "All yours."

"Is there nothing you can't do?" Adelaide asked him.

"Not anymore," He replied. He watched her walk up to her home, before turning around and heading back to his TARDIS. The sound of a gun shot soon filled the air.

John awoke with a start. He ran his hands down his face as the visions of his dream quickly drifted away. Rolling over he looked at the alarm on the nightstand of the small hotel room he was staying in. The time read 5:45 am. It was still early enough that he could make it to the information center by seven. He sat up and got out of bed. He grabbed his pair of black jeans from where he had discarded them the night before, and a clean shirt from his luggage. He hadn't planned on staying in Cardiff more then a few days, but he was intrigued with the prospect of working for Torchwood. He decided to give it a shot, at worse he could still head up to London to work for UNIT. At least he would get to see the Captain again.

With his mind made up and a smile on his face, he headed towards the shower to get ready.

-DW-

Jack didn't sleep at all that night as he wondered if the Doctor would take him up on his offer. No, this was John who was going to be working for him, he reminded himself. The Doctor would never work for Torchwood, not after what happened at Torchwood one. At just after five in the morning, he picked up his phone and sent a group message to the others to be at the hub ASAP. He knew they would be upset with him for calling them in before their workday started at eight. Not wanting to be completely heartless he went and made coffee for everyone.

Mickey and Martha strolled in first, about a half an hour later. Neither one of them looked as though they had much sleep and Jack knew part of the reason why.

"It's too early," Martha complained as she sat down at the conference table and pulled her sweater tighter around her. Mickey took the seat next to Martha and sat their two coffees on the table before placing his hand on her leg.

"If you hadn't been up to extra curricular activities, maybe you wouldn't be so tired," Jack smiled at her. "I hope you at least washed the table." Martha blushed and looked down as an ashamed look crossed her face and she nodded. Mickey was unabashed by the conversation and just squeezed her leg comfortingly as he continued to stare at Jack. a few minutes later Gwen walked in. She didn't look happy either but she looked more awake.

"Rhys says next time you want me here at bloody five in the morning, you better well forget about it," she informed Jack. She accepted a cup of coffee and then sat at the far end of the table.

"Is it the weevils again?" Mickey asked once Jack took his seat.

"No, the weevils can wait until later in the day," Jack answered.

"Then why in the bloody hell have you called us here," Gwen snipped.

"The Doctor may be coming to work for us today." Jack informed them.

"We haven't seen the Doctor in years and I can't imagine him working. Let alone for Torchwood. Why now?" Mickey wondered and Martha nodded her agreement.

"I don't know. I ran into him last night and he is going by the name John and didn't seem to know who I was." Jack didn't add the fact the Doctor had flirted with him.

"Did he use the Chameleon Arch again?" Martha inquired. Jack shrugged, "Was he carrying around a fob watch?"

"Not that I saw."

"What is the Chameleon Arch?" Gwen spoke up.

"It is a device on the TARDIS that lets the Doctor become human. Last time he used it was to hide from a group of aliens called the Family." Martha explained.

"The Family were a nasty bunch, it's no wonder he hid from them." Jack said.

"He wasn't hiding because he was afraid of them Jack, he later told me he hid because he was afraid of what he would do to them. If he is hiding again then we have to watch him. The last time he made me promise I wouldn't let him hurt anyone or let him eat a pear."

"Is he allergic?" Jack asked in concern.

"No, he just hates them and has some sort of vendetta against pears. I brought a pear one time aboard the TARDIS and he refused to talk to me for a week," Martha grumbled and Jack laughed.

"I'll remember that. Now he will be here at seven. I expect all of you to act like you don't know him. I don't want to scare him off the minute he walks through the door, because if he really is in hiding, we have to help him." Jack told them and made sure to look each one in the eye briefly.

"And whatever you do, don't ask about the watch," Martha added. "He'll remember it when it's time."

-DW-

Jack paced anxiously inside of the information center. At just before seven, his heart leapt with joy as he saw John sauntering slowly across the plaza. He stopped his pacing and tried to casually lean on the counter. Failing that he hurried over to the chair behind the counter and sat down, trying to calm his beating heart. It was beating so fast and hard he thought for sure it would come right out of his chest.

At seven on the dot, the door opened and John walked in. "Was this some sort of trick to get me alone?" He asked as he looked around the information center.

"Would I have to trick you?" Jack wondered as he came around the counter and looked John over. John had decided to wear a black polo shirt with his black jeans. A pair of converse finished off the ensemble. John blushed and Jack was pleasantly surprised to see that the Doctor could blush. Again he scolded himself. This was John, who had no knowledge of who the Doctor was.

"Follow me," Jack said finally after a moment of awkward silence. He led John down the hallway and to the secret door that led into the hub. "Welcome to Torchwood."

"This is Torchwood," John barked his laughter as Jack opened the door. Jack looked over at him and saw that his eyes were shining with amusement.

"What did you expect?" Jack asked him.

"I don't know, but not this," John admitted as he followed Jack across the room to the computers. Mickey looked up from where he was monitoring the rift with Gwen. Gwen on the other hand, didn't react and Jack noticed she was asleep. He cleared his throat and motioned to Mickey. Mickey, rather then being delicate, set off the rift alarm. Gwen shot up tipping her chair back and Mickey began to laugh loudly. John eyed Jack as Jack looked at him apologetically.

"Normally it isn't like this." Jack explained and John nodded slowly as Martha came into the room.

"I heard an alarm." She stated.

"It was Mickey," Jack pointed to where Mickey was doubled over in his chair, clutching his stomach as he tried to catch his breath from laughing. Martha tutted and shook her head as Gwen smacked Mickey.

"Everybody, this is John. He is going to be working with us as a scientific adviser and also helping me with the artifacts that come through the rift. John, this is Martha, she is our doctor. That jokester and soon to be unemployed person is Mickey and he is technical support as well as field operator and Gwen is our police lesion as well as field operator as well."

"Do you go in the field," John asked looking at Jack.

"Yes. Martha tends to stay here but sometimes she goes in the field as well." Jack answered.

"You said I wouldn't have to use a gun," John accused Jack.

"You won't. I don't need another hand in the field. As well as scientific adviser, I need someone to be able to relay information and track artifacts while we are out." Jack quickly explained.

"Sounds like you need more people then me to help." John told him as he wondered what he was getting himself into.

"You're right, but I am slowly replacing the team with people I can trust.

"You just meet me."

"Then don't give me a reason not to trust you." Jack replied and John shuddered at his tone. "Let me give you the tour."

The hub itself besides the rift room, Jack's office and the conference room wasn't very big. He had made sure the new hub still had cells as well as a morgue. There was a small kitchen with a room off to the side containing two bunk beds for when they worked long hours. He took him around the rest of the hub before taking him to the autopsy room. He was glad he had listened to Martha when she requested a side lab for medical research. John took it all in and seemed slightly disappointed.

"We are just getting reestablished here. Our original hub was destroyed a few years back and it has taken us awhile to get it rebuilt. If there is anything you want or need for the lab you can put in a request and I would be happy to fulfill it." Jack explained.

"I appreciate the offer Jack, but I think it would be better if I sought employment with UNIT." John said as he turned towards him.

"At UNIT you will have to answer and explain all of your experiments, you carry out. You will also have a boss to answer too. Here I will let you have free range of your lab. You will be the boss and will only need to answer to me." Jack tried to bribe him.

"Can I think about it?" John questioned.

"Take all the time you need." In normal circumstances this is when he would take a potential employee out to the bar and slip them retcon. He didn't know how the Doctor would react to it, besides that he didn't want the Doctor to forget. As he turned to go Martha came rushing in carrying a tray of blood samples they had taken from the weevils.

"John, would you mind helping me. I need to analyze these blood samples." Martha asked as she set the tray down.

"John was.." Jack begun.

"I'd be happy to, if that's all right." He interrupted Jack as he picked up a vial of slightly off colored blood. It was obvious the blood wasn't human and it intrigued him.

"Fine. I'll be in my office if you need me." Jack looked at Martha and she winked at him. He smiled. If Martha could convenience John to stay, he was going to have to give her a raise.

-DW-

"What kind of blood is this?" John asked as he pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Weevil. They have been on the move more lately and we are running test to see if there is something affecting them." Martha answered. John rolled his eyes. He could believe a lot, but weevils weren't real. They were as real as giant alligators in the sewers. He had only stayed out of curiosity but this settled it, in the morning he would be heading back to London.

"Weevils are just a made up creature." He explained calmly to Martha.

"Weevils are real Do.. John. They have been coming out more and feeding and we need to find out why before a disaster happens that we can't cover." Martha set down the vial she had just finished separating into another tube. She labeled it and put it on the second tray that was going into the centrifuge. She took off her gloves and left the lab for a moment, returning a few minutes later with a picture.

"That is a weevil." She said as she held up the picture for John.

"That is a man in a costume." John argued as he glanced at before returning to his work. Martha chuckled to herself. Even as John, the Doctor's stubbornness and need to be right had remained in place. She smiled to herself as she thought about offering John a pear. She set the picture down out of the way and pulled on a new pair of gloves.

"Jack use to have a pet weevil named Janet, we no longer do or I would take you to go see her. I assure you though John, we aren't lying to you. Weevils are real."

"You really believe that, don't you." John looked at her with pity in his eyes.

"I do and if you stick around, you will too."

-DW-

Martha and John worked the morning away. It was mostly in silence as Martha tried to make small talk but John was to busy working to pay attention. Together they ran test after test on the weevil blood but all the test were coming back negative. There was no drugs, diseases, parasites or anything else that would tell them why the weevils were feeding more. Martha wasn't willing to just say that it was a change in habit because it was a drastic change.

"Were going to need more blood." Martha decided as she pulled off her gloves and threw them in the bin. She pulled out the data for the latest test and swore under her breath before crumpling the paper and throwing it in to the recycling bin. They had set all the other paper copies to the side to file at a later time and John lifted an eyebrow at her in amusement. "What," She snipped.

"Bad news?" He asked sounding as amused as he looked. He reached into the bin and pulled the paper out. He smoothed it out the best he could and then laid it on the stack with the others.

"That was the last vial of blood and I just ruled out all possible known diseases." Martha said irritably. John leaned over and rubbed her arm gently.

"You'll figure it out, Martha." He said softly as he continued the slow motion of his hand. Martha found herself staring into his brown eyes. She had always wondered what it would be like to kiss him and now was her chance to find out. She leaned over and pressed her lips chastely against his. His eyes widened in surprise but instead of pulling away he kissed her back. He opened his mouth slightly and she reciprocated. She pulled away suddenly breaking the kiss and moved away from him.

"I'm married," She stated at the same time as he said. "I'm sorry."

Martha hurried out of the lab and into the autopsy room breathing hard. She placed both hands on to the bed in the middle of the room and leaned over it as she tried to catch her breath. She had no idea what had come over her as she looked in his eyes and it was almost as an after thought that she remembered Mickey.

"How's it going?" Jack asked as he came into the room. Martha jumped as Jack startled her from her thoughts and quickly tried to compose herself.

"Badly. All the test I ran came back negative and I am out of blood to test." Martha stated.

"Well you're in luck. The weevils are on the move again and I need you and John to run back up." Jack replied as he looked her over in concern.

"I think you should take John with you." Martha responded.

"I promised him that I would not make him use a gun."

"I'm not saying to give him a gun Jack, but he needs to see a weevil for himself. At this moment he doesn't believe us and if you don't give him a reason to, he is going to leave." Martha informed Jack. She didn't add that she didn't trust herself to be alone with John.

"John," Jack called out as he didn't take his eyes off of Martha. John rushed into the room with his head hung, looking guilty.

"Sir?" He asked nervously. He knew it was wrong for him to kiss Martha and even though he wanted to leave he waited for Jack to chastise him before sending him on his way. In all fairness though, she initiated the kiss and he wasn't going to take the blame. He kicked himself mentally for his stupidity. He should have never trusted Jack and should have just headed up to London to work for UNIT as planned.

"Get ready, I am taking you out in the field." Jack said. John opened and closed his mouth several times, he was ready to defend himself for the kiss and Jack caught him off guard.

"You said I wouldn't have to go in the field." He responded as he finally found his voice again.

"I'm not giving you a gun, John. I am taking you to collect weevil blood for Martha so you two can finish your test."

"Weevils are a myth," John rolled his eyes.

"Then prove me wrong. Come with me and tell me what the hell we are dealing with, if they aren't weevils." Jack turned and headed towards the hub exit. He stood leaning against the door, wondering if John would take the bait. He knew the Doctor was curious and had got himself into more trouble from his curiosity then anything else. Sure enough a few moments later John slunk out of the autopsy room and over to Jack.

"You have one hour, before I head back to my hotel room and then on to London." John stated as he stood in front of Jack.

"And if I'm right, in two hours, you owe me dinner." Jack flirted. John didn't reply as he went straight out the door and over to Jack's SUV. He climbed in the passenger side and crossed his arms as he waited for Jack. A few minutes later Jack came out of the hub with Mickey and Gwen in tow. The three of them got into the SUV and Jack handed John a cell phone as well as an earpiece.

"You're going to need these. One rule in the field, if I give an order you follow it. You don't like the order fine, you can argue me afterwards, but I am not having people die or be injured because you ignore me. Is that understood?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir," John replied sarcastically. Jack let it go for now, if John stuck around her would reprimand him if it happened again, Doctor or not. He started the engine.

"You might want to buckle up." Jack said with humor in his voice as he peeled out of the parking spot and sped towards where the weevils were located. He watched out of the corner of his eye in amusement as John hurried up and buckled himself in. He turned on the blue lights and pushed the SUV to go faster.

"Any reason you are trying to kill us," John asked shakily.

"We have to hurry and get the weevils under control before they hurt somebody," Jack responded as he swerved around several cars and almost caused an accident. John looked into the back seat and could see Mickey typing away on his laptop, not bothered by Jack reckless driving.

"You get use to it," Gwen tried to reassure him. He nodded slowly not trusting his voice as his heart was in his throat. John silently prayed to whatever was out there, that they made it to their destination alive.

Somehow, beyond John's understanding, they survived their trip. His knuckles were white from gripping the door and he flexed his fingers as Jack pulled into a parking spot in front of a small field that was lined in trees.

"Put your earpiece in," Jack told him as he turned to look at John. "I want you to stay here and I will come and get you when it is safe. Under no circumstances are you to follow us before that. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," John answered as he put his ear piece in. For some reason he couldn't explain, the piece made him uncomfortable. He reached up and took it out as he got a flash of the metal men he had dreamed about the other night. He examined it as Jack watched him.

"Is there a problem?" Jack asked.

"No," John replied softly as he replaced it.

"Mickey and Gwen head to the right and I'll take the left." Jack ordered as he slid out of the SUV. Gwen patted John's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, before she went with Mickey.

"Great," John said to himself as he watched them disappear into the trees. He took in his surroundings, if he left now he could be on a bus back to London in a few hours. He looked at his watch and saw that only a half an hour had passed since they had left the hub. He had given Jack a full hour. He placed his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. Needing air, he opened the SUV door and stepped out. Closing it behind him, he leaned against the door and took a deep calming breath and waited.

After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about twenty minutes, Jack came strolling back across the field towards him. As he got closer John saw two strange creatures exit the trees and start to make a beeline for Jack.

"Behind you," John called out and Jack started to turn around, pulling his gun out in the process. As the creatures got closer John realized that they were the weevils from the picture. He still wasn't entirely convinced this wasn't a prank until they lunged for Jack. Jack fired and hit one in the arm but it didn't stop it.

"Jack," John yelled as the two weevils knocked Jack down. He heard Jack scream and the scream turn into a gurgling noise as one latched on to Jack's neck. John didn't even think about what he was doing as he ran to Jack. He grabbed for the gun in Jack's hand and one of the weevils turned and bit firmly on to his arm. He cried out in pain and reflexively tried to pull away but the weevil held on tight. He managed to grab the gun with his other hand and hit the weevil with the butt of the gun. The weevil didn't let go but bit down harder causing him to cry out again. Cocking the gun he placed it against the weevil's temple and pulled the trigger. The weevil released his grip as he feel dead to the ground. With a shaking hand he then turned the gun on the one clamped down still on Jack's neck. He placed a second bullet through its head and it fell on Jack. He pushed it off of Jack in disgust.

Jack was no longer breathing, but John wasn't about to let the weevil eat him. He shot a third weevil as it rushed over with two more following it. The other two fell as gunshots rang out from behind them and he was relieved to see Mickey and Gwen. He threw the gun to the side. He hated guns and hated the fact he just had to use one.

"He's dead," He stammered as he took Jack's wrist in his good hand and failed to get a pulse.

"He'll be fine," She tried to reassure John. He looked up at her with confused eyes as she took his arm and wrapped a handkerchief around it, applying pressure. John hissed and tried to pull away but Gwen held his arm tightly.

"We need to get him back to Martha," She informed Mickey.

"What about Jack, we can't just leave him here." John said feeling faint now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. His arm was burning and he swallowed hard to keep from getting sick.

"Mickey will take care of him," Gwen said softly. Nodding, he ran a hand through Jack's hair. He stood with Gwen and started to head back to the SUV when he heard a deep gasp behind him. He turned quickly around to see Jack sitting up.

"You were dead," John declared. He proceed to wrench his arm away from Gwen and took off running. He had enough of Torchwood and weevils. He just wanted to go back to his hotel room where he was safe.

"Shit," Jack said. "Mickey go get him." Mickey took off running after John but John didn't make it far before he bent over and was sick. Mickey easily caught up to him. He was at a loss of what to do though. He couldn't treat this man, who thought they were strangers, as a friend.

"John, you are losing a lot of blood. We need to get you back to Martha so she can take care of you." Mickey advised him as he slowly approached.

"I'll go to a hospital," John replied. He stood up straight and Mickey rushed forward as John's eyes rolled back in his head and caught him, before he hit the ground.

"Is he okay?" Jack called out as he ran over.

"He fainted." Mickey responded.

"Get him in the SUV now," Jack said as he ran to open the door. They placed John across the back seat. "Gwen, keep an eye on him a moment, Mickey with me." He went around to the back and opened the trunk of the SUV. With Mickey's help they loaded the bodies of the five dead weevils into the trunk and then closed it. He gave Mickey the keys to drive as he climbed into the back with John and supported his head.

"They stink," Gwen gasped and as soon as the SUV engine was started, she rolled down all the windows to let fresh air in.

"Gun it, blue lights. I want us back at the hub quickly." Jack informed Mickey. Mickey followed his instructions and rushed towards the hub. Jack saw the blood seeping through the handkerchief around John's arm and lifted it to examine it. He was still bleeding profusely. Jack struggled for a moment to get his belt off and then wrapped it above the wound as a tourniquet.

"Here." He looked up from his work as Gwen handed him a clean bandage from their kit in the front seat. He removed the handkerchief and sucked air through his teeth when he saw the damage done to John's arm. At the very least John was going to need surgery to repair the damage. "I'm sorry Doc," Jack whispered. He placed the clean bandage around the wound and held it firmly in place as he lifted John's arm above his heart.

"Ow," John whimpered as he started to come back around. The first thing he comprehended was the searing pain in his arm. He opened his eyes and saw the trees flying across the window and could feel the SUV moving under him. The sensations were making him sick and he closed his eyes tightly again.

"It's all right John, we're getting you to help. You just have to hang on." Jack said.

"You were dead." John whispered.

"I know and now I am not. I promise to explain it better later, but right now I need you to relax. You've lost a lot of blood and the last thing we need is for your heart rate to go up." Jack said soothingly. Gwen reached back and took John's good hand and squeezed it reassuringly. John gave her a brief smile that faded quickly as he cried out in pain again.

"Can't you go any faster," Jack called up to Mickey.

"I'm going as fast as I can Jack. We'll be there in ten, fifteen at the most."

"Make it ten," Jack demanded. "Gwen call ahead to Martha and let her know John's been injured and we will be there shortly."

"Hospital," John whimpered.

"I'm sorry but we can't take you to a hospital, John. I know it is hard but you have to trust me. I promise we are only doing what is best for you." They reached the hub and Martha was waiting out front for them. She ran over to the SUV and pulled the backdoor open as soon as it had stopped. She looked at the blood covering both Jack and John.

"What happened?" She asked as Jack eased himself out of the SUV. Still holding John's arm tightly.

"We got ambushed and John got bit. On the plus side I have five weevil corpses for you to autopsy and test." Jack informed her. "Gwen, Mickey take the corpses down to the morgue and get them into cold storage."

"I'll take his arm, you help him stand." Martha said to Jack. She took over holding the bandage in place as Jack eased him out of the SUV. His legs gave out and he cried out as Martha's grip shifted. Jack scooped John up into his arms and carried him through to the autopsy room.

"Lay him on the bed," Martha instructed. Jack laid him down and took back over holding the bandage in place as Martha went to wash up. She pulled on a clean pair of gloves and then made her way back. Taking John's arm again. Jack left the room to get cleaned up, as she peeled the bandage back slowly. It was wet with the blood and didn't stick, but thankfully the bleeding had slowed down. The bite wounds were deep and several looked torn from where John had tried to wrench his arm away.

"I am going to clean your arm and then x-ray it for any damage to the bones. If there is no damage, then it looks as though I can stitch these." Martha informed John.

"I think he needs surgery." Jack spoke up as he came back into the room.

"I want to avoid that, if at all possible Jack," She raised her eyebrows at him and mouthed "Doctor," he nodded as John looked at them curiously. She had never performed surgery on the Time Lord and though he was human now, she still wasn't sure what she could safely give him. She would never forgive herself if she accidentally killed the Doctor while he was in human form. Thankfully she did have anesthetic she had used before to numb him for stitches. It was one that was made on Earth about thirty years in the future and therefore safe for both humans and Time Lords.

"Now John, we will have to watch the bite closely for any signs of infection, so I am going to ask that you stay in Cardiff for a few extra days. That way I can keep an eye on your wounds." Martha informed him as she removed the tourniquet from his arm.

"Why can't I just go to a hospital?" John groaned as he watched her.

"Because they are unequipped to deal with weevil bites." Martha answered quickly. "I can though." She stood and went over to the cupboard and pulled out the medication and a syringe. He gripped the blanket tightly with his free hand and made a fist with his other as Martha gave him several shots around the wound to numb the area. Jack went around to the other side of the bed and offered John his hand. John let go of the blanket and gripped Jack's hand instead.

Martha cleaned the wound. She then set the X-ray and took several scans of his arm. Looking at the scans, she was happy to see that though the wounds were deep, there was no damage to the bone. She sat down again and with skilled hands stitched his arm. She placed a bandage over the stitches in his arm and then wrapped another bandage around his arm to hold it in place. As she worked Jack tried to distract John by talking to him and keeping his attention away from Martha working.

"We can go to dinner another night," Jack flirted. John rolled his eyes at Jack.

"One dinner," He agreed.

"Done," Martha said. As she released his arm, laying it carefully across his chest. She went to the cupboard and got a sling out. "I want you to wear this for the next few days and absolutely no using that arm." She helped him place the sling around his neck and get his arm into it. Once she had it positioned and he was comfortable she pulled Jack to the side.

"I want him to stay at the hub tonight, under observation. That table though is not comfortable to rest on, so can you help him up to the bunk beds?" Martha asked.

"Will do," Jack said. He reached out and gave her a small hug. "Come on John, you're in no condition to drive, so you can stay here for the night." He helped John to his feet and then supported him up the employee break room. John laid back on one of the beds exhausted and Jack helped him to cover up.

"You promised to tell me how you are still alive." John said sleepily.

"I will, another time. Just rest now." Jack replied and John closed his eyes and was soon out.


	2. Chapter 2

He sent the TARDIS up into time vortex before he fell to his knees. He didn't want to die. He still had a lot of living left to do, things he hadn't tasted, places he hadn't seen. Not with these eyes anyways. He had changed time though and disgraced a beautiful woman's legacy. He didn't feel as though he deserved to live. He shakily climbed to his feet and reset the coordinates on the TARDIS. Screw the Ood, who were they to judge him. So he did as he had always done, and ran.

The TARDIS landed a short time later and turned the monitor to him as it alerted him. He stared at it in disbelief. The planet had over 10 billion inhabitants and every single one of them was dead. Worried about a plague he started to reset the coordinates but the information on the monitor caught his attention again. There was not one single cause of death. He verified that it was safe for him to leave the TARDIS before strolling out. The deaths had all been fairly recent and he covered his mouth and nose from the offending smells. Looking around confused him even more. There were people laying dead on the sidewalk and sitting dead on benches.

He walked over to a man sitting against the brick wall. He had no visible markings on him. The Doctor pulled his sonic out and scanned him. As he read the readings, they revealed the man was malnourished and dehydrated. He scanned others that weren't visibly injured and received the same results back. Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned to the others. The others weren't as lucky. Some had gotten off easy with cuts and bruises. Others had missing limbs and were laying in pulls of blood. One poor soul was barely recognizable, having been beaten past recognition.

He kept walking. The deaths were consistent with the first group, until he passed a small cafe. He was glad he had a strong stomach as he saw vomit and blood everywhere. The people inside the cafe had gorged themselves on the food and kept eating long after their stomachs were full. He had seen enough, turning away he headed quickly back to the TARDIS, avoiding bodies as he went. He hit the hand break on the TARDIS and sent her to another part of the planet. Landing again and again, he exited and saw the same deaths played out in every place.

At the last place he landed he turned to head back onto the TARDIS when he heard a soft laughter. Confused he turned and headed towards the sound. A man stood at the end of the street staring at him. He watched as the man walked towards him, stepping on the bodies as though he couldn't see them.

"Hello," The Doctor said trying to sound friendly. In reality this man frightened him as something about him seemed off. That and the TARDIS hadn't picked him up on her sensors. The man looked normal enough though. He was wearing a black suit and had a long black trench coat on.

"Do you need help?" The Doctor asked as the man kept coming closer. The man didn't answer as he continued heading straight for him. As he got nearer the Doctor felt his blood go colder. The man was alive, but there was no possible way he should have been. His black suit hid the blood that drenched it. He took his hand out of his pocket and with bloody white bones he pointed at the Doctor.

"Doctor," The man rasped.

-DW-

John awoke with a start as there was a stabbing hot pain in his arm. He grabbed it as he bit back the cry of pain. He opened his eyes and for a moment he couldn't remember where he was. Then the event's came flooding back to him. He remembered getting bit and he remembered being in the medi-bay but after that it was a little hazy. Sitting up slowly he looked around and found he was by himself. He tried to remember if Martha had given him pain medication for his arm. Standing up he made his way slowly out of the room. He was relieved to see Martha sitting in the small kitchen off the break room. She had a book open and was drinking a cup of tea. She looked over the book as he approached.

"You don't look so good John." She commented as she stood and went around the table to pull out a chair for him. He sat down with a sigh. "How are you feeling?"

"Sick and my arm burns," he complained.

"Let's get you down to the autopsy room so I can examine it. Just wait here while I go and get Jack to help." She told him. She went to the door of the room, not wanting to leave John alone and called out. "Jack, can you come in here please?"

"Be right there," Jack called back and Martha returned to John's side. John sucked in his breath and held it as another stabbing sensation shot through his arm.

"Don't hold your breath, John." Martha knelt down in front of him. "Come on breathe out through your mouth and then in through your nose." Martha coached as John's body tensed with the pain. John let his breath out in one quick sigh and then drew another quick small breath in. "John, listen to me. Breathing like that and tensing isn't going to help your pain. I will give you pain medication as soon as we get to the autopsy room but right now you need to calm down. So follow my lead please." John let his breath out quickly again and then sniffed the air in. Jack came rushing into the room as John finally got his breathing under control.

"Yes, Martha." Jack asked as he approached cautiously.

"I need to get John the autopsy room. I was hoping you could give him a hand." Martha stated.

"He might not want you in the room for that." Jack responded cheekily and John blushed. Jack reached out and took John's good elbow, supporting him as he got to his feet. Letting go, he walked near John to catch him if necessary, but John was steady enough on his own. The three of them went into the room and John climbed up on the bed as Jack stood by his side.

"Let's have a look." Martha pulled on a pair of gloves before taking, John's arm and gently took off the outer bandages. She was worried about the under ones sticking to the stitches and carefully began to pull them back. As she did so though she swore in her head. John's arm was bright red and inflamed around the bite. The bandages were wet with both blood and secretions from the infected skin.

"It's bad, isn't it," John moaned.

"You're arm is all ready showing signs of infection. We need to get you on an antibiotic immediately. I am going to give you a shot of pain killers first and then take samples of the infection." Martha explained. She went over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a syringe and the same drugs she had used the night before. Filling the syringe to a dosage suitable for humans, she cleaned a place on his arm and injected it.

"We will give that a moment to kick in and then I am going to take several swabs of the wound." Martha explained. She went and pulled out four cotton swabs. Swabbing different points on his arm she dropped them into different plastic tubes and closed the lids. She labeled each one with where on his arm the test had come from before setting them aside to be tested. She bandaged his arm again and placed it back in the sling. Martha then went to the cupboard and pulled out an IV and the antibiotic.

"Do you prefer the IV to be in your hand or do you want it a little higher?" She asked as she took his good arm in her hand.

"Higher," He replied and she cleaned a spot a little up above his wrist. Inserting the needle she found his vein and taped it in place. She hung the saline on the IV stand and then injected the antibiotic into the canola on his arm.

"I know this bed isn't the most comfortable place, but I need you to try and rest while we get the antibiotics into your system. I am going to the lab to test the infection. Meanwhile Jack is going to sit with you and keep you company. Any questions?"

"No," John sighed as he tried to relax against the bed.

"Do you want me to grab you a couple of pillows and a blanket?" Jack offered and John nodded. "It's going to be all right." Jack tried to reassure him before leaving the room to retrieve the items. John watched him go. He had come to Torchwood not even a day ago to try to get a job and now here he was laid up in bed, with an IV in his arm and stuck. He kicked himself mentally for trusting Jack in the first place.

"Here you are John," Jack announced as he returned to the room with Mickey in tow. "I brought you a few pillows, a blanket, a good cup of tea and some books to tide you over."

"Thanks," John replied miserably. Jack and Mickey exchanged looks. Mickey set the tea and the books down on the cabinet off to the side and then headed into the lab to find Martha. He couldn't stop thinking about their escapades on the conference table last night and was hoping to christen the lab as well.

"I'm sorry your not feeling well John, is there anything I can do to make it better?" Jack asked in concern.

"No," John smiled weakly as he sat up a little. Jack took two of the pillows and placed them behind him before covering John with the blanket. He left the third pillow he had brought on the floor by the bed in case it was needed later. He then retrieved the tea off of the cabinet and handed it to John. John took one sip and then rested it on top of the blanket.

"I know this isn't what you were expecting when you came to work for me, but I swear not every day is like this." Jack explained as he grabbed the chair by the bed and turned it so he was facing John.

"You also promised I wouldn't have to go into the field or use a gun and look how that turned out." John snipped at him.

"That was a miscalculation on my part and I am sorry." Jack reached out and placed his hand on John's. He waited a moment and when John didn't pull away, he gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact, you are going to have to remain in Cardiff. If you give me your hotel room information, I will send Gwen to retrieve your belongings and you can stay here at the hub."

"I'm not going to work for you. As soon as Martha releases me, I am heading to London to work for UNIT." John retorted finally pulling his hand away from Jacks.

"Fair enough." Jack said. He mentally kicked himself. He had screwed up majorly. The Doctor had trusted them to protect him and all Jack had done was to get the man injured and then drive him away. It was no wonder the Doctor didn't want him around. A loud moan, brought Jack back to the present and he looked at John in concern.

"That wasn't me," John smirked and Jack shook his head as he remembered Mickey had joined Martha in the lab.

"Keep it down," Jack called out loudly.

"Sorry," Martha yelled back. John lifted one eyebrow as he looked at Jack.

"You're not going to stop them." He asked curiously.

"No." John shook his head as Jack placed his hand on thigh. "If you want when your feeling better, you could join them," Jack whispered seductively and John shuddered slightly. His heart sped up and his mouth suddenly when dry. He drank the rest of his tea in one quick swallow and then started to cough. The moment was gone as Jack jumped up and took the cup out of his hands.

"Easy," Jack said. John coughed as his throat burned and he gagged on the tea he swallowed. Jack grabbed a bucket and held it as Martha rushed out of the lab. The buttons on her shirt were done in the wrong order and she was wearing Mickey's pants.

"What happened?" She asked as she pulled out her stethoscope.

"He drank his tea too fast and started to choke on it." Jack explained.

"Help him to sit up more Jack," Martha said and Jack carefully eased John up as he continued to cough. After another minute the coughing subsided and he started to slump backwards.

"Stay sitting up for a moment, I just want to listen to your lungs." Martha put the stethoscope buds in her ears and placed it on his chest. "Take a deep breath for me and hold it. Good, now exhale. Again nice deep breath." Martha instructed and John followed. "Your airways sound clear. Next time I advise you take smaller drinks."

John leaned back against the pillow and Martha checked the IV to make sure it hadn't come loose with his sudden movements. Pleased everything was still in place, she retreated back to the lab to trade pants with Mickey.

"Tell me how you are still alive?"

"I didn't die out there. I was only playing dead so that the weevils would leave me alone." Jack tried.

"You were dead. I took your pulse and saw the hole they tore in your neck, which is gone. I'm not stupid Jack and I would appreciate it if you didn't lie to me." John looked Jack in the eye and Jack saw the Doctor peering out at him for just a moment.

"I can't die. Due to circumstances I am not going into, I don't stay dead."

"Right," John drew the word out. "How long have you known this?"

"Since 1892. I got shot at Elise Island through the heart. I woke up later inside the morgue." Jack explained.

"So your also over 100 years old..."

"I'm a lot older then that." Jack didn't elaborate. The years that he spent buried still gave him nightmares and tight spaces made him claustrophobic. He could clearly see the doubt in John's eyes and knew John though he was lying again.

"I'm going to get more rest now," John said after a moment, he settled down and closed his eyes. He wasn't planning on sleeping but the exhaustion rolled over him and soon enough he was asleep.

-DW-

"How do you know my name?" The Doctor asked as he pulled out his sonic and pointed it at the man. He scanned him quickly and then scanned him a second time. The results were the same, according to the sonic, the man standing in front of him didn't exist. He wasn't hallucinating though. He could feel no drugs in his system, that would cause the man to be there. He changed the settings and scanned a third time. Still the results were negative. The man stopped a few feet in front of him and took in a deep breath. He smacked his lips and hummed happily.

"Oh, so full of anger and pride. Such a delicious combination." The man took another deep breath. The Doctor mentally called out to the TARDIS and she hummed back at him, letting him know she was near. He started to slowly back up, keeping his sonic pointed. As he placed his foot down in another step, he inadvertently stepped on one of the many bodies littering the ground. He quickly lifted his foot but still stumbled and tried to catch himself from falling. His arm was grabbed to steady him and he turned his head slowly to see the man standing next to him, their faces mere inches from each other. The man slowly licked his lips as he took in another deep breath through his nose.

The Doctor pulled away and ran to the TARDIS, the man right on his heels. He snapped his fingers, hoping she would respond, and was relieved when the door opened. He rushed inside and slammed the door behind him. Still feeling uneasy he threw the switch on the console as well making sure the door was completely locked before turning the monitor to face him. The man continued to stand out side of the door looking at the TARDIS.

"I've seen enough," The Doctor declared to the TARDIS and sent her quickly up into the vortex and away from the strange man. He set her controls to random and piloted the ship. It didn't matter where they went as long as he was away from the man. He landed the Time Ship and started to head towards the doors. The TARDIS hummed at him and the monitors beeped.

"Oh what now?" He exclaimed as he headed back to the monitor. "Why did you bring me here," He stammered as the monitor show the Ood home sphere. He quickly released the hand break and sent her back into the vortex. As the TARDIS dematerialized for a moment he thought he saw the man smiling at him from the snow.


	3. Chapter 3

The more the Doctor tried to run, the stronger the oods call was. He was past the point of exhaustion, falling asleep on his feet only to be woken up from the dream of ood Sigma calling to was even to the point where it was affecting the TARDIS. He was unable to set her controls to random anymore. Every time he did so he found them in the ood sphere and he wasn't about to go there. Not yet but it was getting harder and harder to resist. Half asleep, he set the controls and hit the hand break. Lazily he went through the familiar motions of driving the TARDIS. As he passed the monitor and saw the destination, he panicked. In his lethargic state, he had set the coordinates to the one place he was trying to avoid.

Quickly he moved the TARDIS out of the Time Vortex and then set her to orbit a small moon. He rubbed the back of his neck and that is when it hit him. He couldn't go to his death, if he wasn't the Doctor. The Doctor had to die, but what about John Smith? With renewed energy, he ran down the corridor into his bedroom and dug a spare fob watch out of his desk. He ran back to the control room. He tried to decide where to go.

Last time Martha had looked after him for all those months and he couldn't ask that again. Besides last he heard she worked for UNIT and she wouldn't have time. He quickly ran through all the friends he had and then made up his mind to go to Jack. He knew Jack would watch over him and not ask questions. Knowing Jack though, he would come looking for the TARDIS and so he also decided to leave him a brief explanation. Before he could change his mind, he quickly set the coordinates for Cardiff. Making sure to check them twice. He landed the TARDIS with ease in the back of an alleyway. He placed her almost all on stand by power, all except for the chameleon arch. Sitting down in front of the monitor, he recorded a short message.

He pulled the arch down and the TARDIS hummed sadly at him. He gently caressed her console one last time. "It's not forever Old Girl." He reassured her before he placed the helmet on his head. Pain filled his body and he began to scream.

-DW-

Jack stayed by John's side, until his breathing evened out. He gently fixed the blanket around him, before heading up to his office to get paperwork done. The paperwork was necessary but he hated having to file it and let it build up. He knew that Martha was the same way. As he looked at the growing pile on his desk, he made up his mind. He was going to find a secretary who would take care of the filing and hopefully also be able to make coffee and run errands. His heart ached a little and he couldn't help but think of Ianto. For a moment he could picture him standing in the office, whistling happily as he filed the paperwork. Pushing the thought away, as his eyes filled with tears, he turned to the paperwork again.

It was a welcome distraction when a few hours later, Gwen came into the office, without knocking. "Jack, I just got off the phone with Andy. He was called to a home earlier today to do a welfare check on a family of six that hadn't been seen for awhile. When he got to the house, he found the whole family still in their beds all near death."

"Poisoning?" Jack wondered.

"No, when the hospital examined them, all of them were malnourished, dehydrated and close to death, but initial toxicology reports have come back clean. The hospital and police are stumped." Gwen went on.

"And there are no reports of an artifact landing in that area?" Jack asked and Gwen shook her head.

"No, I double checked with Mickey and there have been no reports in the last week of any rift activity in that area. It just appears that they have stopped having the will to live." Gwen explained to Jack.

"That's bizarre." Jack whistled through his teeth.

"Yeah." Gwen agreed.

"Still I want you to go into the archives and search for any news that this has happened before." Jack ordered and Gwen left the office. He had just picked up his pen again when Martha called his name. He threw it down as he rushed out of his office and to the autopsy room. One look in and he knew why she was calling.

When he had left John, he was fine. Now his was shivering and sweating as he moaned in his sleep. Martha had his arm in one hand and was quickly removing the bandages in the other. As she pulled back the bandages they both swore. John's arm had grown worse. Now instead of being slightly red, it was bright and inflamed. The bandages were soaked due to the infection.

"What can I do to help him?" Jack asked Martha.

"For starters I need a better bed for him. Preferably a hospital bed. I also need more bandages, IV's that are saline and a few medications and I need them as soon as possible." Martha said.

"Make me a list and I will get right on it," Jack reassure her. She wrapped John's arm loosely to keep the wound clean. Quickly she scribbled a list down, handed it Jack and then turned back to his arm. Jack took the list and was heading out of the room when Martha called out his name again.

"Yes," Jack stopped and turned towards her.

"It would also help, if you could find the TARDIS. I may have to perform surgery after all and I need to know how to treat him if I do." Martha stated.

"I will get Mickey to contact Sarah Jane. Mister Smith should still have the base codes for the TARDIS and be able to locate where on Earth the Doctor parked her. Hopefully it is near by." Jack explained and rushed out of the room.

"Mickey," He called out.

"On it boss," Mickey called back. He all ready had the cell to his ear, having over heard the conversation from where he sat by the rift computer.

"When she finds it, I want you to head over to the TARDIS and find out how we can help the Doctor," Jack informed him and Mickey saluted him with two fingers. Jack then turned and ran out of the room down to the archive room. Gwen was sitting at the computer working and she looked up as Jack entered.

"I need you to go through the Doctor's belongs he has here. I want you to find out where he is staying and then go to the hotel and clear out his room. Bring everything back here. Do not forget to bring the fob watch. He may not have it in his belongings that are packed, but do not leave the room without it. We may need it soon then expected." Jack informed her.

"What about the family?" She asked as she stood up and followed Jack out of the room.

"Worry about them later. Right now we need to save him." Jack responded. Jack headed out to his SUV and climbed in. He drove to a small store and picked up bandages while he argued with their normal medical supplier about getting a rush order on the medications and IV's Martha needed. He then found a bed that would work for Martha's needs. It wasn't a hospital bed but it had a movable frame that allowed them to lift his head or feet. They couldn't deliver it right at that moment, so he agreed to drive and pick it up.

He returned to the hub with both items in tow. Mickey and Gwen were both gone and he unloaded the bed and pushed it down to the autopsy room. "Martha I'm going to need your help." He called out and she came out of the room, looking frazzled. She helped him to maneuver the bed into the room and then together the carefully transferred John to the new bed.

He moaned a little at the transfer but otherwise didn't wake up or react. Martha frowned. "I gave him a stronger antibiotic and have cleaned the wound and changed the bandages again. His arm has stayed the same in the time you were gone and I am hoping the stronger antibiotic works. If not I will have to operate. He has also been fitful and I am hoping the new bed will allow him to rest easier.

"I will take the old one out in a moment." Jack commented

"Leave it, just move it off to the side and out of the way. If I have to operate I want to use that bed, since it is higher." Martha responded and Jack pushed the bed back against the wall and out of the way. Martha took a cool cloth and placed it on John's forehead.

"Any word from Mickey or Gwen." Jack asked.

"Mickey headed out to find the TARDIS. Last I heard Sarah Jane narrowed it down to the east side of Cardiff but was still working on an exact location. Gwen and I found his key to the hotel and she took off to clean his room out as you requested." Martha responded. "All we can do now is wait."

-DW-

Jack was sitting worriedly beside John's bed. His breathing sounded labored but he was still getting enough oxygen. Martha was keeping a close eye on his breathing, in case it changed but right now thankfully, it wasn't a major concern. His arm though was another matter. The bite was getting worse and quickly.

"I've never seen an infection spread so rapidly," She informed Jack as she removed the wet soiled bandages and replaced them with clean ones. "Is there something in his biology that we aren't aware of that makes him more vulnerable to infection from bites?"

"I don't know," Jack replied. He couldn't just sit around and do nothing though. He changed out the wash cloth on John's head for a fresh cool one. John moaned slightly and he brushed his sweat drenched hair back. Still feeling useless, he pulled out his cell and rang Mickey first. Mickey didn't answer until almost the fifth ring. "Where the hell are you?" He snipped impatiently.

"Sorry boss. I found the TARDIS and I have arranged for an old mechanic friend of mine to help me to bring her back to the hub. We should be there in about twenty minutes." Mickey responded.

"John can't see her. That could trigger his memory early." Jack informed Mickey impatiently

"There is an almost empty store room off of the morgue we can keep her in." Mickey replied without hesitation.

"I knew I kept you around for a reason." Jack smiled as he realized Mickey was right. They would have to shift a few boxes around but there would be enough room. They were of course going to have to retcon Mickey's friend after, but he would take care of that. "See you soon."

"Oh boss, the TARDIS made it very clear that whatever you do, don't operate on John." Mickey stated quickly.

"Did she say why?" Jack asked in concern.

"She couldn't but she shocked me several times to make sure I got the message."

"I will check it out when you get here." Jack hung up the phone this time and then immediately called Gwen.

"I am just about done cleaning out his room Jack," Gwen answered getting straight to the point. "I have found the watch. You were right it wasn't with his belongings but by the window out of the way."

"Good work Gwen, what ever you do don't open the watch, though we may need it sooner then expected."

"I'm not dumb Jack," She sighed.

"I know. When do you expect to be back?" Jack wondered.

"If you don't need me back right away, I want to swing by the station and talk to Andy about the family. See if there is anything they missed." Gwen responded.

"Keep me informed." Jack hung up and turned back to watching John. It was strange watching the heart monitor and it only registering one heart. In fact all of the readings were normal for a human who was ill and that concerned Jack even more. Were they wrong about John being the Doctor. They couldn't be, they had the watch and the TARDIS, Jack decided. Still it was hard to see the Doctor so sick and be helpless.

He was lost in his train of thought when he heard Mickey call out from the main room. He stood up and hurried out to see Mickey and a strange man trying to maneuver a Police Box using a hand truck. Jack laughed at them amazed they had gotten it so far. Still he went to give them a hand and the three of them managed to move her into the store room. They were all out of breath by the time the job was done.

"Thank you for all your help," Jack shook the mans hand before turning to his employee. "Mickey, why don't you take your friend up for a glass of water," Jack commented, raising his eye brows at Mickey. Mickey nodded and headed out of the room. Jack pulled his key out from his pocket, where he had kept it ever since he had first met the Doctor and Rose. Placing the key in the lock, he entered the dimly lit room and the TARDIS hummed sadly at him.

"What did he do to you old girl," Jack asked softly as he ran his hand along the base of her door. Heading up the ramp he went to the console and restored her back to full power. He didn't know how to drive her without the Doctor's help but there was a few tricks he picked up during his travels. The TARDIS hummed at him happily. He passed by the monitor and saw that a red light was flashing. He reached out and hit the button for it and the monitor turned on with an image of the Doctor sitting there.

"Jack," The Doctor started. "My life is in danger and there was no other choice but to become human again. Don't let me do anything stupid, like eat a pair or hurt another human being. And I am sorry Jack, but I can't become the Doctor again, so whatever you do, don't open the watch. Hide it away and just forget about it. Thank you."

Jack watched the short video several times. The Doctor in it was scared and looked half mad. It was a far cry from the man that he thought he knew. The video also explained nothing, he still didn't understand why the Doctor had gone into hiding. What was he running from that he thought his life was in danger enough to hide away forever? Jack wished he knew so that he could help the Doctor feel safe again. The TARDIS hummed impatiently at him and he rubbed her console.

"Ow," He cried out and pulled away when she shocked him. He looked at the screen again and rather then the video being there, it was filled with information. He cursed as he read it. The Doctor in his attempt to hide, had rushed the chameleon arch and had compromised his immune system. That is why the infection was spreading so quickly. It was also why Martha couldn't operate. If she did have to operate, the TARDIS was insistent that John was returned to being the Doctor first, regardless of his wishes. The screen changed and he saw a list of medications Martha would need that would help John to fight the infection. He ran to the medi-bay to get them.

-DW-

Martha was running through the Doctor's vitals when Jack entered the room. He had several medications in his hands and another IV. "The TARDIS gave me some medication for him. She also wants him to have this IV, but leave the other one up, so he will have two going into his system." Jack began to explain.

"What is it," Martha questioned as she hung up the new bag.

"A mixture of vitamins and nutrients his body needs. Apparently he rushed the change to become human and compromised his immune system. She said that will give his body a boost that it needs. Also these are better medications for fighting infections and she would prefer you use them." Jack handed her the two vials. "He should receive this one first, through the IV and then this one has to be given into the muscle. She also says that if you do end up having to operate, we are going to have to wake him up first."

"I've all ready given him two different antibiotics," Martha replied in concern as she inserted another needle beneath John's skin and started the IV.

"She knows but she insist that he needs these as well." Jack answered back. Martha nodded and then read the vials. She had never heard of either of these medications and guessed they were from the future. She got the doses from Jack and drew up the first one, inserting it into the canola. The second one could wait for awhile.

"Did you find out why he is in hiding?" She asked as she worked.

"No, all he said is he can't become the Doctor again. I will do more research later and find out why he thinks that." Jack replied determinedly. "I want to help him. He looked so scared in the video he made." Jack didn't add that he also looked like he was losing his mind. That is something they would have to address if they were ever able to bring the Doctor back. For now though, it looked as if John were here to stay and Jack didn't know how he felt about that.

-DW-

Gwen returned to the hub before heading home for the night. She dropped off John's luggage into the break room and took the watch down to Jack. As Jack took the watch into his hand, he heard the Doctor hissing at him from inside. "Hide me," the watch begged him and he slipped it into his trouser pocket.

"Did you find anything else out about the family?" Jack asked as he stepped out of the autopsy room.

"Nothing unusual, but I did find out that they aren't the first family to be found in Cardiff near death. There have been two others in the last week. The first two families were found before it progressed as far but they are still refusing to eat or drink on their own. All of them are currently being treated at the same hospital." Gwen informed Jack.

"How many in each family?" Jack wondered.

"Three in the first one found and only two in the second."

"So eleven people infected all together and no trace of a reason why. Did you get the locations?" Jack questioned.

"Yes, and none of them lived anywhere by each other."

"Leave the information you gathered by the rift computer and I will get Mickey on it as soon as he gets back. Have a good night Gwen." He stepped closer to her as he spoke.

"Jack, with your permission I would like to go search the houses and see if I can find anything the police missed."

"Denied. I don't want you near them until we figure out what's causing this. Now go home Gwen and I expect you back here at eight am sharp tomorrow." Leaning forward he pressed his lips against Gwens, kissing her deeply. She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around him pulling him close. He broke the kiss with a small peck on her lips and then turned to head back to the autopsy room to sit with John. It was only as he entered the room, that he thought about the kiss. He hadn't wanted to kiss Gwen like that in years, yet the kiss felt natural. Putting it down to stress and worry about John, he pushed it from his mind.

When Mickey got back to the hub, he verified that Mickey's friend had been retconned before giving him the folder that Gwen left behind and setting him to work. He was hoping that Mickey would be able to find something that tied these three families together and gave them a time line of when it started. He had hoped with the first family that it was an isolated incident but with two others found that hope had been dashed. Now it was a question of how many other people out there had been infected and how many would die before they were found. He felt guilty as he silently wished that they would find a disease that was causing the people just to give up, so he could turn it over to the local police and not have to worry about it.

It was another two hours after Mickey's return, before Martha finally gave John the second medication from the TARDIS. She was as gentle as she could be as she inserted the needle in to the muscle of his upper thigh, but still he moaned and swatted at her in his sleep. Jack grabbed his hand and held it tightly in his own. He rubbed his thumb back and forth on the top of John's hand as he comforted him. John continued to moan the entire time Martha gave him the injection and only went quiet once she had removed the needle. They were still unsure how aware he was but the prick from the needle going in had obviously penetrated his sleep.

"I'm sorry that hurt John, but it's all done now." She comforted him as she fixed the blanket. "Are you going to wake up properly now." He kept his eyes closed and she leaned in and kissed him softly on the head. "All right, just rest for now."

He didn't wake up or react to them again that night and thankfully around morning, his fever finally broke. Martha checked his arm often to keep the bandages clean and dry and was relieved to see that it was beginning to look better. It would still be awhile before it was completely healed and the infection was gone, but she was no longer worried about the infection killing him. She checked both of the IV's and just busied herself with checking him over, even though she had just performed the same checks not to long ago.

She was about half way through them, when she noticed that his eyes were open and he was watching her. She stopped.

"How are you feeling, John," She asked keeping her voice professional. Her hand on the other hand had a mind of its own and she was rubbing up his thigh and along the side of his groin before going back down again. He had to have noticed but he didn't comment.

"Sick," he moaned.

"Can you be a little more specific?" She asked as Jack cleared his throat. She looked at him and he nodded towards her hand. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly pulled away and clasped her hands together in front of her.

"My arm hurts, my head hurts, my stomach is sour and I feel sticky." He offered.

"Your arm is badly infected. I have you on a couple different antibiotics and it is looking better today then it has been. As for your head I can get you some medication for it but you also should try to eat something. That will more then likely help your stomach as well as your head." Martha responded calmly. She walked over to the sink and got him a damp cloth to wipe his face with and hopefully feel a little cleaner. "Now what do you want to eat?"

"I don't know," He whimpered as his head pounded. He thought for sure his brain was trying to dig it's way out of his skull and escape.

"How about a nice pear," Martha suggested, just to see his reaction and sure enough John make a face of pure disgust. "No, okay then I will get you a couple pieces of toast and a cup of tea. If you can keep those down we will try something heavier later."

"All right," He agreed and watched her leave the room. After she was gone he turned to look at Jack. "Do you normally sit by your employee's beside?"

"When they are sick and I have the time, yes. I care about my employees John. I have know Mickey for a long time now. Martha and I have been through a lot together and Gwen has stayed by my side and gone beyond what I ask of an employee." Jack stated.

"Still trying to get me to work here?" John raised an eyebrow at Jack.

"I can't force you to stay. I know you want to work for UNIT and I can't blame you on that. We use to have all the space, equipment, and employees that UNIT had but when that Torchwood was destroyed, I rebuilt it. This building we are in now is the second time I have rebuilt Torchwood and if it gets destroyed, I will rebuild again. I know you are disappointed in what you found here and you got hurt on your first mission. I still think if you actually give it a shot here, you could be happy." Jack felt himself practically begging the Doctor to stay. He closed his eyes a moment, no it was John who wanted to leave, the Doctor was the one who had programmed the TARDIS to find him. If John left, he didn't know if he could live with the fact that he failed what very well may be the Doctor's last wish.

"How long am I going to be here?" He asked over Jack's shoulder as Martha returned with his breakfast.

"At least until the infection has cleared. I would like you to stay until we remove the stitches but any doctor can do that." Martha told him. He took a small sip of the tea and felt the hot liquid run down his throat and settle warmly in his stomach. He picked up a piece of the dry toast and took a bite, chewing it slowly. He had a few experiments he wanted to run. Since he was going to be stuck here anyways, he might as well get started.

"I am not making a commitment, but until Martha releases me, I will work for you. But if I don't like what I see, I am leaving as soon as I can." He stated.

"Sounds fair."

"You will have to be on light duties, until your arm is healed. I still don't want you using it." Martha declared.

"I won't." John promised. He took another bite of the toast and found that it was helping his queasy stomach. His head was still pounding and he couldn't think straight. That was probably the only reason he was agreeing to work for Jack after all that happened.


	4. Chapter 4

John managed to eat half of a piece of toast before pushing the rest aside. It had helped his stomach a little bit but his head was still pounding and his arm ached. Martha drew up another syringe of pain killers and injected it into the canola.

"There now, that will help with the pain. I don't want you to work at all today, I just want you to rest. I will be back in a little while to make sure you are. Understand?" She asked and he nodded weakly at her. "Jack, I have set the system to alert me if needed. I am going to start the autopsies now."

"All right," Jack agreed and Martha hurried out of the room. She leaned against the wall outside the door and caught her breath. She needed to be a doctor to John, but she kept thinking how easy it would be to take him into her mouth and... She pushed the thought aside. She was with Mickey and the two of them had a very active sex life. Why she suddenly wanted the Doctor again, she wasn't sure but she wasn't going to do anything to ruin her marriage. Feeling a little bit steadier now that she was out of the room with him, she headed down to the morgue to start the autopsy.

Meanwhile Jack sat with John. He pulled out a notepad and even though John wasn't suppose to be working, he began to make a list of the supplies that were needed. Some he knew they had at Torchwood and others he could get off the TARDIS or go to the store later. As they talked, he noticed that John was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"I am going to go place orders for the items that you need and get caught up on paperwork. Is there anything that you need right now, before I go?" Jack asked John, giving him an out. John smiled at Jack gratefully.

"No," He replied as he settled back on the bed and pulled the blanket up. It was still hard to get completely comfortable with a sling on one arm and two IV's in the other. He was also positive that he had a catheter but he didn't want to lift the blankets and see it. His body still had a general ache but the pain medication Martha had given him felt nice. He barely registered Jack kissing him softly on the head before he was out.

Jack stood and watched John sleep for a few minutes. He pulled the watch out of his pocket and was tempted to open it and bring the Doctor back. The watch though was still crying out in his hand to be hidden. He took the watch up to his office and opened the small safe in the wall. He placed the watch inside and closed the door. Later he was going to go back to the TARDIS and see if he could find a more conclusive reason why the Doctor had gone into hiding. He felt a desperate need to know why. A part of him knew that once the Doctor was back the flirting would end, but he hoped that it would continue and he wouldn't feel so damn guilty about it. He wanted to bend John over the nearest table and have his way with him. It was only the thought of the Doctor waking up and remembering it and being upset with Jack that kept him from following through.

He had made himself hard again. He reached down and fixed himself. He needed a distraction. Picking up the notepad, he began to type in the items into the system. Every item in the lab was logged and he easily figured out which items he still needed. He looked at his watch. It was still early in the day and he was bored. He looked at the stack of paperwork that was waiting for him. He quickly decided that he would rather kiss Mickey. Standing up, he made his way to the TARDIS.

"He's doing better, thank you," He told her as he stepped inside and she hummed at him happily. He went to the console and began to hit buttons. He watched the video on the monitor again, looking for any indication of how long ago it was recorded. Of course he couldn't find one. Time changed aboard the TARDIS depending on where it was and who the Doctor was with. She kept the lights in 24 hour cycles when the Doctor had humans aboard and she only dimmed them for him when he asked or he passed out, when he was by himself. Jack looked through the flight records and found that the TARDIS had landed on Earth one week ago.

That was about the same time the weevil behavior started to change. Jack wondered if there was a tie between the two. He wished he could ask the Doctor about it. The Doctor would know, or be able to figure it out easily. "Why not ask John," He thought to himself and mentally kicked himself for how easy a solution that was. John was a different man but it was also obvious that he was intelligent. He pulled out his cell and sent a group text for a meeting in two hours. Hopefully he would be able to find a connection without having to bug John.

-DW-

The small team sat around the conference table for the meeting.

"First things first, how is John doing?" Jack asked Martha.

"He is in stable condition. His arm is still badly infected but the antibiotics the TARDIS gave us are helping him. He was asleep when I left him and hopefully he will continue to sleep and recover." Martha answered

"How are the autopsies going?"

"I autopsied two of the Weevils. So far I haven't been able to find anything conclusive about the changes in their recent behavior. It is almost as though they are just hungry, which was also evidenced by their stomach contents. I found mice, leaves and berries, which go against their normal eating habits." Martha advised the group.

"So nothing to much to worry about." Mickey concluded.

"Normally I would agree with you but with the three families recently starving themselves, I find it unlikely that the two are not tied together somehow." Martha answered

"I agree." Jack leaned forward. "Has there been any other unusual activity in Cardiff in the last few days?"

"Small crimes are on the rise." Gwen looked at her notes. "A woman stabbed her husband because he came home late. A man pushed a fellow employee down the stairs for getting the raise he wanted. Another man broke into a couples home to steal their dog."

"That's nothing unusual," Jack scoffed.

"But all three people were described by friends and family as being mild mannered. They were acting out of character, just like the weevils and the families who are starving themselves." Gwen insisted. Jack almost brushed her off, but Gwen's instincts had been right in the past.

"I want you to look into it. Keep an eye out for anybody else acting unusual and follow up with the families. Martha, I want the autopsy on the last three weevils done and I want you to run the blood work again to make sure nothing was missed. Mickey go back through the rift data for the last 6 months and cross reference it with the artifacts retrieved. I want to be sure we didn't miss anything." Jack ordered and they all nodded. "We will meet back here at 1700 tomorrow and I expect updates from you all. Dismissed."

Around 6pm Jack tried to send everyone home for the night. The projects they were working on, was more a filler until something important came through the rift or until the weevils started acting up again. He didn't actually expect them to finish everything by tomorrow, he just wanted an update to let him know the projects were being worked. Gwen left readily enough and Mickey agreed to leave. It was Martha who was reluctant.

"What if John needs something during the night," She insisted.

"Then I can tend to him or call you." Jack answered back. "All he should need tonight though is to have his IVs changed over and his arm cleaned. I can do both easily."

"Can I at least examine him before I go?" She asked in one final effort to stay.

"You have a half an hour. Any more then that I am going to get Mickey to throw you over his shoulder and drag you out, if I have to." Jack threatened. He knew by allowing her to check on John before she left, would reassure her he was doing better and allow her to rest. If he tried to stop her, she would worry all night and not sleep. He watched her disappear into the autopsy room.

When a half hour passed he went in to get her. She had changed out John's IVs, cleaned his arm, examined him, removed the catheter and was discussing with John about getting on his feet. John turned to Jack and looked a little embarrassed as he mouthed "Help me." Jack chuckled.

"Okay Martha, time is up. Time to leave poor John her alone." Jack said coming over.

"I'm just about finished." She commented as she fixed the blanket and took her gloves off, before turning to John. "I saw that by the way and I can put the catheter back in if you really want me too." John shook his head quickly. "All right, you can get out of your bed to use the bathroom and take a shower later if you would like. Just make sure you keep your arm covered. I don't want it getting wet and irritating the infection. It is okay to rely on Jack to help you, understand."

"Yes ma'am." Martha made notations on his chart, so she was aware of what she had done and the last time he had received medication. "Jack, his arm needs to be cleaned still every two to three hours. Make sure you keep an eye out for any new redness or sores that indicate the infection is getting worse again. You know how to change the IVs and other then that, he should be fine until morning."

"Can I eat?" John asked her.

"If you are hungry. Just no heavy meals yet, not until we are sure it will stay down. Okay?" He nodded meekly and then breathed a loud sigh of relief once she left, making Jack chuckle.

"So what would you like to eat?" Jack asked. "How about a hamburger with all the fixings and a side of chips.

"Just toast." John replied as he felt his stomach flip.

"I can get you a hot bowl of soup to go along with the toast, if you want," Jack offered.

"All right," John agreed. Jack left to go get the two of them food and a drink. When he returned not even twenty minutes later, John was almost asleep again.

"You can eat later if you want to." Jack offered and John shook his head no. Jack set the food down and helped John to raise the back and sit up some before placing the tray with soup and tea in front of him.

"Are you from America, Jack," John asked as he stirred the soup around, not really eating.

"No. Would you believe I am actually from a place called the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century?" Jack answered cheekily.

"Then why are you here?" John wondered.

"I joined a organization called the Time Agency as soon as I was old enough. I was given this device, which is called a vortex manipulator." He held up his wrist band." It allows me to travel through time. So, I stayed with them for awhile before going rouge and working as a con man. I met a wonderful man at that time who changed my life, literally. He ended up leaving me in the future and I used my manipulator to try to get back here to find out why. I ended up overshooting my destination and landing in the 1800's."

Jack kept his answers as vague,so that he hopefully wouldn't trigger the Doctor's memory. He still didn't want to lie to John though, he always had trouble lying to the Doctor after they met properly.

"So you're over 200 years old." John raised an eyebrow at him.

"I am actually over 2000 years old, but I am not going into that." Jack watched him take a small bite of soup. He made a face and then went back to stirring it. "If you don't like it, I can get you something else."

"It's fine, I'm just not that hungry. What about your family?"

"My father died during an attack on the village we lived in and that time they took my little brother. It was just my mom and me after that and she died before I joined the agency."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago. Where did you grow up?" Jack asked curiously as he dismissed John's apology.

"Gallifrey," John answered absentmindedly. "My mum and dad also died when I was young. I had my older brother for awhile but he passed away too. I have been traveling on my own ever since."

"We're a lot alike then." Jack smiled weakly.

"My parents didn't pass in an attack though. They just sat down on the couch one day and didn't get up again." Jack felt his blood running cold. "My brother a few years later, started eating large amounts and didn't stop until he killed himself."

"Did the doctors figure out why?" Jack asked as calmly as he could.

"No," John's eyes were drifting closed again and his dinner was forgotten. Jack moved the tray.

"Get some sleep and I will be back in a little while to check on you." Jack took the tray and rushed out of the room and dropped it on the table before running to the TARDIS. What happened to the 'Doctor's parents' was too similar to what was happening now, for it to be a coincidence. He wanted to open the watch and ask the Doctor directly about it, but the Doctor had left them clues to follow. He was a genius after all and at this moment, Jack didn't know whether he wanted to kiss him or kill him.


	5. Chapter 5

John watched Jack rush out of the room. Despite his instructions he wasn't tired enough to sleep again. He glanced over at the table and realized the Jack had taken his drink with him.

"Ja.." He started to call out and then stopped. He didn't need to rely on Jack for help. Jack was busy and he could get himself a drink. Stiffly he moved his legs to the edge of the bed and then eased himself off. His muscles ached in slight protest but he had made it to his feet. Grabbing onto the IV stand he took a small step as he inched his way along the wall and out of the room. Heading towards the dining area. He kept his eyes cast down as he moved. He paused for a moment and lifted his head, a wave of dizziness hit him. He placed a hand on the wall and took a deep breath before trying again.

The room was on the other side of the hub, but he didn't remember the hub being so large before. Still he would be able to make it. He cautiously moved away from the wall and began to head towards the room. He lifted his head to check his progress again, when another wave of dizziness hit him. Reaching out to find only air, he stumbled and fell forward onto the floor. Trying to catch himself he threw his hands out. His arm in the sling protested though, remaining bent. As his hand hit the floor, his bent arm landed right across the bite mark. He cried out as the darkness threatened to over take him, as the IV stand hit the back of his head.

"Jack," He cried out and tried to move to sit up. His body protested and he gagged. Turning his head slightly he lost the small amount of food he managed to eat. His stomach twisted and he spit before turning away and trying to move across the floor again. He managed to get a short way before exhaustion over took him and he lay whimpering slightly on the floor feeling defeated.

"Jack," he moaned again.

-DW-

The TARDIS hummed happily as Jack went running back on. Jack patted the console affectionately. "He's doing better," Jack promised and he felt a blast of warm air.

"Now I need to know, what was he running from?" Jack asked the ship. Jack turned the monitor to himself and was disappointed to see that it was blank. He didn't expect to have all the answers displayed for him but he had expected at least some answer. He swore and the TARDIS blasted him with cold air.

"Sorry, but I need something. A clue to why he is hiding. He left himself clues." Jack thought aloud. "Does John believing his parents starved to death have something to do with why he is hiding? Did the Doctor starve them?" Jack asked feeling dumb even as the words left his mouth. He felt worse as he swore the TARDIS was laughing at him.

"What then?" Jack huffed. The screen changed and Jack saw a planet that looked much like Earth. Unlike Earth though everyone was dead. The ones who just sat down and died looked peaceful compared to other's whose bodies were barely recognizable. The pictures changed to a list of causes of death. Starvation and murder were the two highest listed. Suicide by over eating was next. Jack studied the Doctor's research growing more and more concerned by the similarities he was finding. Using the family closest to death as case zero that would make the beginning of the event on Earth, one week ago.

"How long did it take for the whole planet to die?" Jack asked the TARDIS. Jack's stomach flipped as the time line appeared. It read only eight weeks from the first known case to the time when the last person had taken a breath. They only had two months to save the earth. They needed the Doctor. Regardless of his reason for hiding, if he didn't help them, Earth was dead. He ran out of the TARDIS and towards his office. As he ran through the hub he noticed John laying on the floor in the middle.

"Doctor," He cried out, not thinking as he rushed over to him.

"Who?" John whimpered as he tried to lift his head. He was laying on his arm and as he moved his body the pressure caused pain to shoot through it again and he cried out.

"John, what happened? Why are you out of bed?" Jack asked in concern as he knelt down and moved the IV stand off of John's back.

"I was thirsty," John answered.

"Why didn't you call me for help?"

"I didn't want to bug you." John moaned.

"And this is better. Let's get you off of that arm and back to bed." Jack started to turn John over causing John to scream, "I'm sorry," Jack apologized as he managed to get John over. John lay there breathing heavily and whimpering. Jack sighed as he saw the fresh blood on John's bandages.

"You just couldn't let Martha have the night off." Jack tutted. "I am going to get you back to bed and then call her. On three." Jack placed one arm under John's back and the other under his legs.

"No," John whimpered as Jack lifted him off the ground. John groaned as Jack carried him back through to the medical room and laid him carefully back on the bed. "Wait here while I get Martha."

"You can help me... You don't need to bug her." John pleaded and Jack stopped. He pulled fresh bandages out of the cupboard and the suturing kit. He carefully removed the bandages to find that John had broke several stitches. Not surprised Jack checked the chart and pulled out a syringe, filling it with a local anesthetic. He gave John four small injections around the bite.

"Where did you learn to.." John asked trailing off.

"I was a field medic." Jack answered vaguely as he stitched John's arm. "I still wish you would let Martha but I understand not wanting to bug her. If she tries to kill me in the morning though, you will understand why."

John nodded solemnly as Jack tied off the last stitch and then cleaned John's arm thoroughly. John winced but didn't dare complain about the pain. It was a relief when Jack bandaged his arm and placed it back in the sling.

"I am going to update Martha and I have to grab something from my office. Do you need anything before I go?" Jack asked sternly.

"Water please," John replied meekly. Jack got him a bottle and then headed up to his office to retrieve the watch. Regardless of whether the Doctor was ready or not, it was time to wake him up.

Jack went into his office and retrieved the watch. The watch was still begging him to hide it, but Jack ignored it. If they continued to allow the Time Lord to hide, Jack feared there would be nothing left of the earth to wake him up too. He couldn't let that happen. So he took the watch, went into the medical room and sat down next to the bed. John looked up at him in concern as Jack gently took his hand. 

"I'm sorry John, but we need the Doctor back. It's time for you to wake up." Jack said softly. 

"I don't understand," John replied. 

"I know, but you will." Jack opened the watch. A golden stream left it and headed straight for John. Entering his body through his eyes and mouth. As the stream dissipated, the Doctor's eyes went wide and his good hand shot straight up to his head. He clenched his eyes tightly closed as he began to scream. 

"Doctor?" Jack asked in alarm and confusion. The Doctor didn't answer as he continued to scream. "I'm going to call Martha, just hang on." 

"Change me back," He managed to cry out, within his screaming. 

"I can't do that, we need you," Jack apologized as he dialed Martha's number. The phone rang and rang as Jack tried and failed to comfort the Doctor. The call went to her voice mail and he hung up the phone and then dialed her number again. This time she picked up on the fourth ring. 

"Hello?" Martha answered, sounding slightly out of breath. 

"I need you to get down to the hub as soon as possible." Jack demanded. 

"What happened to John," she asked as she heard him screaming through the phone. 

"He tried to get to the kitchen and fell. He broke open a few stitches and hit himself on the head with the IV stand. I cleaned him up though and stitched his arm." Jack told her. 

"Then why is he screaming?" Martha asked in confusion. 

"That's not John screaming," Jack admitted. "It's the Doctor."

"Oh you bloody, stupid idiot. You opened the watch after I told you not too." Martha ranted angrily. "I told you that he would remember the watch and open it when it was time, but you didn't listen to me did you. I don't know why I continue to work for you, if you aren't going to take my advice." 

"I screwed up and I am sorry Martha, but we need him. I will explain everything when you get here, but for now I just need you to help me, to help him." Jack apologized. 

"I am on my way. Now where is he hurting?" Martha asked. 

"As far as I can tell, it's his head. He is holding it with his good hand and has his eyes closed. Just a moment," Jack moved the phone aside. "Doctor are you hurting any where besides your head?"

The Doctor opened his eyes and looked at Jack with both hatred and amusement. "My arm where it was bit," He cried out, managing to sound sarcastic, even through his pain. 

"Just his head and his arm." Jack told Martha picking up the phone again. 

"Go to my medicine cabinet and open it. Inside you will see a shelf that has a red case. Inside the red case there is a clear bottle with a white lid that has a blue dot on the top." Martha told him. "You want the bottle that is marked A2-1P."

"Just a moment," Jack followed her instructions as he looked through the bottles. He noticed all of the labels were in circular Gallifreyan, with Martha's markings on them. Jack found the bottle she had indicated. "Found it." 

"Show it to him and tell him that you are going to give him .5ml directly into his vein. Confirm it is all right first." Martha demanded. Jack moved back the bedside. The Doctor's screaming had gone softer and Jack wondered if it was only because he was beginning to lose his voice. 

"Doctor, Martha wants you to take this," He held up the bottle so that the Doctor could see it. "She wants me to give you .5ml, if that is all right." 

".8ml" He whimpered, his voice sound hoarse. 

"He wants .8ml," Jack told Martha. 

"That's fine, that still gives us room, if he needs a higher dosage." Martha responded. "Give it to him and I should be at the hub in ten minutes." She hung up before Jack had the chance to respond again and he knew that he was in trouble once she arrived. He found a syringe with the correct measurements and filled it up to the correct line. He took the Doctor's hand in his and found a vein. He inserted the needle and emptied it into the Doctor.

The Doctor held Jack's hand tightly as Jack set the empty syringe aside to be disposed of. He rubbed the Doctor's arm and ignored the pain in his hand. It felt like the Doctor was trying to break his fingers, and Jack felt it was the least he deserved after what had happened. As the drugs kicked in, the Doctor's pain subsided though and he began to breath easier as he released Jack's hand. 

"Water," he rasped out and Jack quickly grabbed the bottle and helped the Doctor to take a drink. The Doctor drank greedily and then coughed as he choked on it. Jack took the bottle and set it on the table next to the empty syringe. The Doctor regained his breath again and then turned to look at Jack. "Why did you ignore me?" 

"We need you Doctor. I have reason to believe that what happened on one of the last planets you were on, is happening here. We have people who are starving themselves to death for no reason and the weevils have been unusually active in their search for food. They are eating things that are unusual for their diet." Jack explained. 

The Doctor sighed, "Have the crime rates increased, specifically people acting out in anger?" 

"There has been a slight increase, but nothing out of the ordinary." Jack responded. 

"It will get worse. This is just the beginning stages. Soon more people with stop moving and sit down to die or they will eat themselves to death. There will be an increase of deaths due to angry over petty things, and envy over what other's have. The previous planet affected had a larger population, but the planet was dead within two months time." The Doctor said softly. 

"How do we stop it?" Jack asked and the Doctor shook his head.

"How do you stop human nature?" He asked.


	6. Chapter 6

"Captain Jack Harkness," Martha yelled as she entered the hub. Jack paled a little at the anger in her voice. She stormed into the autopsy room and as Jack stood up to meet her, she swung and slapped him hard across the face. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to wake him. I knew you were a right bloody git but this is ridiculous. What the hell were you thinking?" She raised her hand to hit him again and Jack caught her wrist in his hand. Not deterred, Martha punched him in the stomach with her free hand. Jack gasped and then grabbed her other hand as well. 

"What is happening here now, has happened before and killed the entire population. I was thinking that we needed the Doctor back before Earth was destroyed." Jack hissed angrily as he fought Martha. She was struggling to get away from him and she stomped hard on to his foot. He was just thankful he was wearing his boots. 

"Stop it," The Doctor said, but both of them ignored him. 

"You didn't even think of checking the TARDIS to see if he left any clues did you?" Martha asked as though she were talking to a child.

"Don't condescend me. I am still your boss and I will retcon you and throw you on the streets." Jack threatened.

"Enough," The Doctor yelled, as loud as he could. "Now I have seen enough to know that you are both infected. You need to calm down and you need to do it now. If you don't you will end up killing each other."

"I could live with that," Martha stated. 

"Martha Jones. Stop and think for a moment. You are a doctor, not a murderer. Now calm down." Martha took a step back as Jack released both of her wrist. She took a deep breath and then another. "Now you Jack."

"I need a drink," Jack said as he turned and walked out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Martha turned to the Doctor.

"Did the medicine help?" She asked him in concern but he could still hear the anger in her tone. 

"Yes, thank you." He replied as politely as possible as she carefully took his arm out of the sling and undid the bandages Jack had placed. She examined the stitches Jack had put in for him.

"At least he can do something right," she mumbled.

"He was right to wake me. Earth will be destroyed unless we can find a way to stop human nature." 

"Simple enough. We will just tell everyone not to do what comes naturally." Martha said sarcastically. The Doctor rolled his eyes at her but didn't comment on it, since she was still holding his arm with the bite wound. 

"We need to find a man. He will be wearing a black suit with a long black coat. He will look normal but his hands will be skeletal. He was on the last planet, after everyone was gone and I am sure we will be able to find him here." He told Martha as she wrapped his arm. 

"We can't search the whole Earth just to find one man, Doctor. Do you have any idea how long that would take even if we used all of Torchwood's resources as well as your TARDIS," Jack commented as he came back into the room. He had a bottle of whiskey in one hand and two shot glasses in the other. 

"We don't need to search the whole planet. We only need to search where people are sitting down and letting themselves die." He watched Jack set the glasses down and then fill them before taking a long drink off of the whiskey bottle. He then picked up one of the shot glasses and offered the second one to Martha. She held up her hand to decline and he shrugged and downed both of them. 

"Cardiff is the only known place at the moment, but I will get Mickey down here to run a wider sweep. If we find this guy, will it stop what is happening?"

"I don't know."

"Well that's helpful. I always enjoy our talks Doctor," Jack slurred as he took another long drink of the whiskey. "Half the time I don't know what you are talking about and the other half I am sure you are just making it up as you go along." 

"Jack," he rolled the name to show his annoyance. "I need you to trust me. We have to find this man. Once we have him, I can figure out if he is causing the deaths or just enjoying the chaos they cause." 

"The solution is simple, we find him, I shoot him and if it doesn't stop, then he wasn't causing it." Jack explained and Martha nodded her agreement.

"And if it doesn't then what?"

"We shoot everyone who is infected." 

"Listen to yourself, this isn't you talking Jack. You aren't like this." The Doctor pleaded. 

"How do you know? You haven't been around here in years, and then you waltz in here as John, flirt with me and expect me to take care of you." Jack finished off the bottle and set it down. "And I will take care of you every time because I love you and you take full advantage of it. Now I am going to go find and kill the guy so that we have our answer."

"No," The Doctor called out, but Jack ignored him as he headed straight out of the autopsy room and left the hub.


	7. Chapter 7

"Damn it," He cried out angrily and grabbed the nearest thing at hand. The bottle of water flew across the room and slammed against the wall bursting open and spilling its contents.

"I'm not cleaning that," Martha commented as she watched. She crossed her arms and glared at the Doctor. "And was that really necessary. You tell me and Jack to watch our tempers and then throw things."

"Sorry," He apologized even though he wasn't sorry at all. He was to angry to be sorry. Now rather then healing and repairing his systems like he needed to, he had to go and stop Jack from shooting everyone in the world. He could shoot the people infected now, but unless they figured out how to stop the spread of the virus, bacteria, germ, or whatever else might be causing people to act out of character, the earth was doom. Jack shooting anyone in his line of sight would only speed up the process.

"And where do you think you are going?" Martha asked.

"I need to stop Jack, now will you please help me remove this IV?" He asked as he held out his arm to her. She started at it. "Please Martha, before innocent lives are taken."

"Fine, but when you hurt yourself more, don't expect me to treat you." Martha declared as she removed the IV line and then turned to walk into the lab. On the way she kicked the bottle of water, causing it to release the last of its contents and skid across the floor. As she disappeared, he lowered himself gingerly to the floor and felt his head rush. That was okay though, he could handle this. Step by step he made his was through the hub. As he reached the hubs main computers, he closed his eyes and opened his mind to the TARDIS, calling out to her. She hummed at him angrily.

*I'm sorry old girl,* He apologized to her. *I had to hide otherwise I would have died. I am not ready to die yet." She hummed again at him and pictures of a blue box, alone and weathered flashed through his mind. *I know, I did't think about you and for that I am truly sorry, but please help me to stop Jack.* He begged her and finally she allowed him to feel her location in the hub. He thanked her mentally and headed to her. He found her in the same storage room, with her doors still opened. He happily entered and went up the ramp.

"We need to find Jack," He told her as he approached her console. He set his hand on it to steady himself a moment and she shocked him. Slightly surprised he fell back and landed hard on the grating of the floor. He cried out as his arm was jolted and knocked against the captain seat as he fell. He lay there and panted in pain for a moment before pulling himself to his feet again. He was about to scold her and kick her for hurting him, when he saw that the monitor was flashing Jack's location. He patted her console as he accepted her apology and then set the co-ordinates for a side street near Jack and pulled the hand break.

He had to fight her, to keep her from trying to go to the ood sphere. Their pull on her was as strong as ever and she was trying to answer their call. He managed to keep her on earth and even on the same day. The location was off though and rather then landing near Jack he landed almost three blocks away. He grabbed his coat from where it still hung on the coral by the door and threw it on as he headed off. As soon as he set foot on the streets of Cardiff he could see that something was wrong.

"Give me your car," A man yelled angrily at another man and the few people in the street walked past as though they saw nothing. He heard the gun shot and the car speeding off before he was able to approach and wasn't sure if the man laying on the ground with a bullet between the eyes was the car owner or thief. The police arrive a few moments later and he hurried off as fast as he could. As he walked he passed a man sitting on the ground eating chocolates. His face was covered with the chocolate mess and wrappers surrounded him. He smiled up at the Doctor as he took another bite and the Doctor moved away from him.

He couldn't help these people the only way to help them was to stop what was happening. He looked around desperately for Jack and instead he saw the man in the suit staring at him. The man closed his eyes and took a deep breath smacking his lips.

"So tasty," he muttered as he started to move towards the Doctor. The Doctor turned and saw Jack coming up the street.

"Jack, help me apprehend him." The Doctor called out and Jack ran towards him.

"Who, who is it Doctor?" Jack asked excitedly as he pulled out his gun. The Doctor turned to point to the man again, but he looked around in confusion. The man was gone. He looked towards the man who was eating the chocolate.

"Did you see what happened to the tall man in the suit?" He asked.

"No," the man replied as chocolate leaked down his chin. Still the man shoved another piece in and tried to chew. The Doctor jumped as the sound of gun fire filled the air and the man slumped to the side. The police were on them in a flash, guns pointed, screaming at Jack to drop his weapon.

"Hands were I can see them, now." an officer shouted and he held up his hands the best he could as he looked at Jack out of one eye. Jack was standing there with his arms hanging loosely and his gun still in his hand.

"He was infected." Jack shrugged.


	8. Chapter 8

"I won't say it again sir, drop your weapon and placed your hands in the air." The police officer repeated as he pointed the gun at Jack's forehead.

"I am Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood." Jack announced as he held up his free hand and slowly bent down to place his gun on the ground.

"I don't care if you are the Pope himself." The officer replied as he moved in and slapped a pair of handcuffs around Jack's wrist, locking them securely behind his back.

"Stop," A familiar voice cried out and the Doctor looked over to see Andy rushing over.

"He just shot this man," The officer argued.

"The man escaped several days ago from our Torchwood cells." Jack lied angrily and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "I tried to quietly take him back and he resisted. He has been exposed to a deadly toxin that makes the person eat themselves to death. Now if the police would like to handle the man, I would be more then happy to turn the body over."

"If your from bloody Torchwood, where is your ID?" The officer asked.

"I would have shown it to you but my hands are behind my back." Jack hissed back as Andy moved forward.

"May I?" Andy asked.

"Top left pocket." Andy reached in and pulled out Jack's Id showing it to the officer. The officer sighed loudly.

"What about him?" He asked gesturing to the Doctor.

"He is with me and if you lay one finger on him..." Jack trailed off as Andy tugged roughly on the cuffs. The Doctor lowered his good arm and then slumped back against the building. He let himself go to the ground and sat there as he watched Andy removed Jack's cuffs. Jack immediately pulled out his cell and put it to his ear.

"Martha get your ass down here." pause. "What do you mean no? I am still your boss and I have a body you need to process." Another pause as Jack began to pace. "If you want to... She hung up on me." He snapped angrily as he stormed over and kicked the body of the man. He kicked it again as he put his phone back to his ear. "Gwen you have ten minutes to get down here or I am retconning Rhys." He threatened before hanging up the phone.

"What is the matter with him?" Andy asked worriedly. He had just defended Jack to get him released and now he was sure he was going to have to retcon him again.

"Intensified anger. I am not sure why, that is what we were working on when he decided to shoot that man who has gluttony." The Doctor nodded to the body again as Jack continued to kick it. "An autopsy of what's left, will hopefully give us a clue to what is happening before it destroys this world."

"Shouldn't we try to contain who is infected?"

"We don't know how it is spread. Everyone here has potentially been infected. Those two especially." He nodded to the man being detained. "Your officers have all ready had contact with him."

"Are you all right?" Andy asked noticing the Doctor's arm finally.

"Me, I'm fine." He lied as he continued watching the man being detained. The man started to fight the officers and kicked backwards hitting. He squirmed and twisted and screamed at the top of his lungs, drawing even more attention from the people passing by. Two of the officers placed the man's upper body on the back of the car as they held him firmly. The man stopped screaming and then grinned as he lifted his head and slammed it down against the car. He repeated the action, before they could stop him, and knocked himself out, going limp in the officer's arms.

"Bloody Torchwood," Andy complained.

"Jack stop kicking him or there will be nothing left for Martha and I to autopsy." The Doctor commented as he turned his attention back to Jack. Jack was still kicking the corpse and swearing under his breath as he did so. The mans nose was now broken and there were cuts all along his exposed skin. Jack kicked the man one last time as a car pulled up.

"I'm here." Martha said grumpily as she got out of the car with Mickey. She took one look at the Doctor and shook her head. "You are going back to Torchwood and getting back into bed, even if I have to tie you up and drag you there. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." He replied sarcastically.

"I will get him to his TARDIS and back to Torchwood." Jack offered as he pulled the Doctor roughly to his feet, causing him to cry out in pain. "You two move the body and fill in Gwen when she gets here about what happened."

"What did happen. This man looks like he was beat and then shot." Mickey commented as he leaned down to observe the body.

"The kicking happened post-mortem." The Doctor informed him and all eyes turned to Jack who shrugged.

"You have a job to do." He snapped as he began leading the Doctor away from where the TARDIS was parked and down another street.

"I parked the TARDIS in that alley." The Doctor commented.

"I know, we aren't going to the TARDIS. We are going to find the man with the skeletal hands." Jack replied. "You saw him once and hopefully he hasn't gotten far. We need to end this before things get worse." The Doctor didn't reply as he leaned heavily on Jack and kept thinking about just putting one foot in front of the other. His arm ached painfully with every step and he was feeling slightly woozy. He wished he had just listened to Martha and stayed in bed at Torchwood, though if he had, everyone on that block could have ended up dead, from Jack's anger. For the first time in all the years he had known Jack, he realized that he was afraid of Jack. Not wanting to turn Jack's temper on to himself, he silently kept moving.


	9. Chapter 9

He kept walking just concentrating on moving. If he could just make it to the end of the block, and determine the man was gone, maybe Jack would take them back to the hub. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ood Sigma standing, beckoning him to hurry to the ood sphere. 

"No," he growled softly. 

"No what?" Jack asked as he continued to walk. 

"Nothing," He replied as he ignored the image and kept walking. He tried to look out for the man but it was taking a lot of effort to keep his head up and facing forward. Instead he would glance up every few steps and scan the area, looking for the man. He had no hope of finding the man but the sooner they did, the sooner he could lay down. 

They were almost to the end of the street when the sounds of fighting greeted them. Jack drug him along faster as he hurried in the direction and he cried out in both surprise and pain again. Jack didn't care as he lifted him slightly off his feet as he hurried along. As they rounded the corner they saw a show with its window broken out. In front of it a crowd had gathered and they were looting items from inside. The man they were looking for was standing near the chaos with a smile on his face. 

"There," he said, lifting his hand slightly to point in the man's direction. 

"I don't see him Doc," Jack hissed as he kept moving towards the crowd. 

"The man in the suit with the bald head," He answered. 

"I can't see his hands. Are you sure?"

"Trust me," He replied as they headed into the crowd. Jack let go of him and he stumbled a bit as Jack rushed off ahead to go after the man. He walked slowly after Jack, but was getting bumped and pushed by the crowd. He fell and was kicked hard in the side. He cried out and tried to get to his feet again. He was almost there when a man stepped in front of him. The man slammed into him angrily. 

He looked down in surprise as he felt a strange numbness through his abdomen and saw the man was holding a knife. The hilt of the knife was rested against his chest. He staggered slightly backwards and the man let go of the knife before turning to run. He dropped to his knees in shock, clutching at the hilt as he felt blood seeping around his fingers. It was getting hard to breathe. 

"Jack," He whimpered as he fell backward. 

"Doctor," Jack screamed and he heard the sound of gunshots. Moments later Jack fell to the ground in front of him. Jack's eyes were open but they were unseeing in his death. Blood poured from the side of Jack's head as people ran to get away from the gun shots. In their hands they still clutched the items from the store. Pain was beginning to surface and he cried out as he tried to breathe. He fell into a pattern of short quick breaths that made his head feel heavy and he had to fight to keep awake. Jack awoke with a gasp in front of him and looked around slightly confused as he sat up with a jolt. 

"Doctor?" Jack said as he quickly moved to the Doctor's side. He took the Doctor's hand and moved it as he saw the blood seeping from between his fingers. "Oh god Doctor, hang on." He pulled out his cell again as he fought the urge to pull the knife out of the Doctor's chest. 

"Martha, Martha you need to get down here. The Doctor is hurt badly. He has been stabbed in the chest and while I can't tell the length of the blade I am positive it has penetrated his lung." Jack commented. He cried out as the pain rose and his vision went hazy. He clung on to consciousness as he reached out and grabbed Jack's wrist. 

"Stay with me Doc, Martha is on her way." Jack told him. The sound of sirens filled the air and Jack swore slightly under his breath. 

"Don't... let... them.... take.... me..." He whimpered softly as he continued to breathe quickly. He was terrified of hospitals after what had happened in San Francisco several years ago. 

"I won't. Don't worry. I will make sure that Martha is the one to treat you." Jack reassured him and kissed him softly on the head. "I'm so sorry for bringing you here. I wasn't thinking straight. I was so angry at Martha." Jack shook his head. He couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened it all seemed fuzzy now. The Torchwood SUV pulled up beside them and Martha jumped out with her medical bag in hand. 

"I said I wasn't going to treat you, so you just had to injure yourself did you." Martha snapped at him as she pulled on a pair of gloves. 

"Sorry," he whimpered. 

"Shut up," She snipped. "Save your breath and concentrate on trying to breathe slower before you cause yourself to pass out." Jack continued to hold his hand, as she pulled a pair of scissors out of her bag and then cut his shirt open. "We are going to have to operate and remove the knife and clean the wound. Mickey get the stretcher from inside the SUV, we need to get him on it and back to Torchwood."

"The TARDIS is closer, she is just around the corner." Jack informed Martha as Mickey rushed to follow her instructions. He groaned in pain and Jack gripped his hand tighter. 

"It is going to be a difficult surgery," Martha whispered, her anger ebbing as she realized what was happening to the full extent. His immune system was all ready shot due to changing to human and then being bit by a weevil. Now he had been stabbed. 

"I didn't mean it," She whispered. "I will always treat you Doctor." She reassured him as Mickey came back to their side. He placed the stretcher down and even though him and Jack were as gentle as though could be, he finally blacked out due to the pain.


	10. Chapter 10

Martha laid down the back seat of the SUV. Jack and Mickey carefully loaded the Doctor in. Martha climbed into the back and started to work on treating him again as Jack climbed in and closed the doors. Mickey rushed to the front and jumped in the driver's seat. 

"Where was the TARDIS?" Mickey asked. 

"Back in the alley, near where the man was shot." Jack replied and then noticed there was no body in the car. "Where is that man anyways?

"Gwen is handling it," Mickey answered as he started the SUV and began to drive the short distance back to the TARDIS. Jack turned his attention to the Doctor. 

"He's going to regenerate isn't he?" Jack asked as he watched the Time Lord struggle to breathe and Martha work on him. 

"I don't know if he can," Martha answered. "He hurt himself when he turned human and it just was made worse by the weevil bite. Even though we gave him nutrition and vitamins to help him, I have no idea if it has yet.

"And I just made it worse," Jack whispered. "I couldn't stop myself, I was so angry." 

"I am still angry as much as I want to help him, I also want to hurt him." Martha admitted and Jack started to comment but was interrupted. 

"We're here," Mickey called out as he stopped the SUV and jumped out. He ran quickly around to the back and opened the doors. With great ease the took the bottom of the stretcher and Jack took the head, moving the Doctor from the SUV. They hurried quickly to the TARDIS doors and Martha opened them. Mickey led the way as they rushed to the medi-bay. 

"Bring him over here," Martha called out as she ran to the last bed in the room. 

"Why this one?" Jack asked as they followed. 

"That room is sterile, we can use it to operate." She answered as she pointed to a door just off to the side. 

"Jah..." Jack looked down and saw that the Doctor's eyes were open and watching him. 

"Shh, don't speak. Just concentrate on breathing." Jack said gently as he placed the stretcher on the bed and then caressed the Doctor's head gently.

"No," He whimpered again and tried to pull away as Martha inserted an IV into his hand.

"Jack, I am sorry to ask, but I am going to need your help." Martha said. 

"Anything Martha," He answered as he tried to comfort the Doctor. She drew up another syringe and carefully injected it into the IV in his arm. 

"Just rest now. Don't fight it," She said reassuringly to the Doctor. He didn't listen though as he grabbed Jack's hand and gripped it tightly, fighting to stay awake. 

"It'll be all right," Jack soothed him, as he lost the fight and his eyes drifted close. He made sure the Doctor was asleep before turning his attention to Martha. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need your assistance in surgery. I can't do it on my own and Mickey doesn't have any medical training. I could call someone down to help, but by the time they got here it could be too late." Martha explained as she removed the Doctor's shoes and slid off his trousers.

"I understand just tell me what you need." Jack answered as he swallowed hard. 

-DW-

Mickey was waiting impatiently in the medi-bay for Jack and Martha to come back with the Doctor. It had been several hours since they had wheeled him into the sterile room to start the surgery. Mickey had heard Martha's worry about the Doctor not being able to regenerate and even though they had their differences, especially when it came to Rose, he didn't want the Doctor to die. 

Mickey jumped to his feet as the Doctor was wheeled back into the medi-bay. He looked worse as an oxygen mask still covered his mouth and nose. His bandaged arm was laying on the bed and another bandage now covered the side of his bare chest. A tube was sticking out of the bandages to draining the fluids and blood from his chest cavity and allowing him to breathe. Both arms now had IV's and there were three bags hanging from the IV stand, one with blood, the second with saline and the third had nutrition information on it.

"Why does he need both saline and nutrition?" Mickey questioned. 

"I am using the saline to administer pain killers for him to keep them at a therapeutic level." Martha explained.

"So how is he?"

"He made it through the surgery but the next twenty four hours will be critical in whether or not he survives. He lost a lot of blood into his chest cavity and his left lung had completely collapsed. He has made it past the first hurdle, but he still has many more hurdles to cross before he is well." Martha admitted. 

"Such as?" Jack questioned as he took a seat next to the Doctor's bed.

"Waking up, making it through the first night and having the tube removed, among other things." Martha commented. "The Doctor is strong though and I have faith he is going to make it." 

"Then we need to worry about what is happening here in Cardiff. Mickey did Gwen ever bring the body in?" Jack asked. 

"Yeah, she text a little while ago to say it is in the Torchwood morgue." Mickey replied. 

"Martha as soon as you can, I need you to autopsy the body and see what you can find out. I also want to draw your blood so that we can compare it to previous information we have and find out if anything has changed."

"I'm not eating to kill myself." Martha said sarcastically. 

"No, but you are unusually angry and though you might think it is normal, you are starting to worry me." Jack told her. 

"Fine," She snipped. She went over to the cupboard and grabbed a syringe. She then handed it to Jack, before sitting down next to him. Jack tied a tourniquet around her arm. He carefully inserted the needle and drew a full vial of her blood before removing it. 

"I am going to run this to his lab. Let me know if anything changes." Jack said standing up. 

"Maybe," Martha replied as she ran through the Doctor's vitals. Jack shook his head as he hurried out of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack took Martha's blood down to the lab and separated it into several vials. He dug around and found another syringe. Using his belt as a tourniquet he withdrew a vial of his own blood and added it the plate that was going in the centrifuge. Martha's anger frightened him and he was tempted to take the Doctor away from her care, but even now he could feel his own anger rising again. It had gone almost completely away when he died and stayed dull over his worry upon seeing the Doctor with a knife sticking out of his chest. Slowly though over the course of the surgery he felt the anger rising, until he wanted to reach across the operating table and throttle the life out of Martha.

Anything that continued after he died, was a truly frightening thing. For normally when he died, his body reset, but the anger had continued on. The next step was to figure out why it was affecting him and Martha and then maybe they could figure out why Mickey and the Doctor didn't seem affected. He tried to think of if Mickey had been showing any signs of being angry, or gluttonous or even overly lazy but nothing came to mind. The Doctor on the other hand was lazier then normal. Even now he was laying in a bed expecting to be taken care of. Jack stood and was almost to the medi-bay to hull the Doctor out of bed, when he reminded himself the Doctor had just had surgery.

"How is he?" Jack asked as he entered.

"No change since the last time you asked." Martha snipped at him. He resisted the temptation to yell back at her. Now wasn't the time to let the anger rise. Instead he turned his attention to Mickey.

"Mickey, I have a few questions to ask you." Jack said.

"Shoot boss." Mickey responded as he leaned slightly forward in his chair.

"Have you been feeling unusually angry?" Jack questioned.

"Like you and Martha, no," Mickey replied calmly.

"What about hungry or not wanting to move?"

"You mean am I infected? The answer is I don't think so."

"Why not?" Jack snapped and Mickey shrugged. "Then what in the name of hell are you good for."

"Don't talk to my husband like that." Martha stormed over and stood in front of Jack.

"Awe need the little wifey to defend you," Jack mocked and Martha slapped him hard across the face. The slap echoing around the medi-bay. In the ensuing stunned silence a small groan was heard from the Doctor. Martha took several deep slow breaths.

"Go to him," Martha said, her voice more calm then before. "He responds to you better and we need to make sure he wakes up cleanly. We need to figure this out quick though Jack, because each time it flares it is harder for me to calm down."

"Tell me about it," Jack muttered as he went over to the Doctor's bed and gently caressed his head. "Come on Doctor. You need to open those pretty brown eyes of your now and look at me." Jack cooed softly, the Doctor moaned louder this time. He opened his eyes a crack and blinked at Jack before deciding the effort to keep his eyes open was too much and closed them again.

"Hey come on, you can do better then that. Open your eyes again and keep them open this time." Jack sniped softly and the Doctor's eyes opened once again.

"Jack," he moaned sadly, his voice scratchy from the oxygen drying out his mouth and throat. Martha came over with a bottle of water and handed it to Jack as she moved around to the other side of the bed.

"How about a drink and then we can talk about what hurts alright?" Jack grabbed a small glass and poured a little water into it. He supported the Doctor's head as he took a drink and then fell back onto the pillows again.

"Better?" Martha questioned.

"Yes, thanks," he replied as he licked his dry lips and settled down to sleep again.

"Not quite yet Doctor." Jack looked at him apologetic as he rubbed his shoulder to try to keep him awake. "We need to know if you are hurting."

"Chest and arm." he replied immediately.

"Badly," Martha questioned and he shook his head no in response.

"Now we also need to know why the three of us are being affected by, by, by," Jack paused not sure what to call the outbreak since he didn't know what was causing it in the first place. "Whatever the hell this is but Mickey's not."

"Mickey the idiot," The Doctor smiled and then winced as Martha slugged him in his good arm. "Sick," he moaned.

"Not sick enough to stop me from kicking your ass if I have to," Martha threatened. The Doctor looked at her sadly but she stood her ground in defending her husband. "You are always putting him down and for some reason he still looks up to you. That doesn't make him an idiot but a better man then you are. He even stayed in that other universe to help you."

"Say that again," He said to Martha as he forced his eyes open more and tried to wrap his brain around what she had said.

"I said you aren't sick..." She began to rant again and he interrupted her.

"No the last part."

"He stayed in the other universe to help you." Martha answered.

"Void stuff," He smiled. "Covered in it." He muttered to himself as he closed his eyes again and fell back asleep. Jack rubbed his shoulder and tried to rouse him again but he was ignored as the Doctor began to snore softly.

"What does he mean by void stuff?" Jack asked turning to Mickey again, once it was clear the Doctor was out for the count.

"The void is the dead space between the universes. I was covered in it because of jumping back and forth between them. He had some on himself as well." Mickey responded.

"It could be stopping whatever is causing this. We need to test you and him and see if there is evidence the void particles stop infection." Martha smiled.

"How can we see or test them though?" Mickey wondered.

"We have to wait for the Doctor to wake up again and ask him. I just wish there were more people to test in order to be sure."

"There is one more person but we can't use them." Jack responded.

"Why not?" Martha snipped.

"It's Donna."

"If Donna knows anything about the void, then I think we should ask her." Martha said without hesitation. 

"If Donna remembers him, even for a moment, her mind will burn. How will that get us the answers we need?" Jack snipped at her. "I still have the archives from Torchwood One. We can go through them and see if they have on record how to detect the void particles. Mickey stay here and watch her. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." Mickey stood and stepped between Martha and Jack as she stepped forward to take a swing. Mickey caught her arm and she yanked it away from him angrily. "And where the hell is Gwen?"

"She took the body to Torchwood." Mickey reminded him calmly. He was trying his hardest to keep the peace between the two of them, but was finding the task almost impossible. Jack went back to the Doctor's side and gently caressed the side of his face. 

"Doctor," He cooed. "Wake up again Doc."

"Let him sleep." Martha slapped Jack's hand away from the Doctor's face. 

"I need to ask him a few questions." Jack snapped at her.

"You can ask them when he wakes up again." Martha yelled back. The Doctor groaned as he opened his eyes a crack. "Oh great now you've woke him." Martha threw her arms up in the air, exasperated. 

"I didn't wake him, you did." Jack informed her snidely. 

"Mickey," The Doctor moaned. He reached his hand out for Mickey's and Mickey took it, letting him squeeze it tightly. The Doctor's eyes were shining with fear and Mickey realized how helpless the Doctor probably felt at the moment. He was laid up in bed with a tube in his chest and IV's in his arm, trying to fight the sedation. The two people who were suppose to be taking care of him were arguing and if either turned on him, he would be helpless to stop it. Normally he knew that would never happen, but with the anger affecting both of them, it could go badly for him quickly.

"It's okay boss, I'll protect you." Mickey reassured him as he gently squeezed the Doctor's hand. Martha and Jack had continued to bicker the entire time, missing the exchange between them.

"...So help me." Mickey heard Martha finish a threat. 

"You both need to calm down and pull it together now, if we are going to resolve this." Mickey spoke up as Jack opened his mouth and raised his finger at Martha. "Fighting isn't going to save the Earth and you are scaring the Doctor and me. Now Jack you were going to go to Torchwood to find information about the void and Martha you need to calm down and check the Doctor."

"Doctor is there a way to test for void particles." Jack asked and Martha huffed loudly to show her discontent at Jack questioning him. Other than that though she didn't interrupt. 

"My glasses." The Doctor whispered. 

"You're thinking glasses?" Jack wondered and the Doctor shook his head slowly. "So where are the glasses I need."

"I threw them in a supernova." The Doctor admitted and then winced, holding Mickey's hand even tighter as Jack slammed his fist down on the bedside table. Martha stepped forward again, but a look from Mickey made her pause for a moment. 

"I can make more," he said quickly, trying to sit up. Mickey placed a hand on the side of his chest without the drain. 

"You need to rest and Jack needs to calm down." Mickey informed them. "Torchwood was opening the void for months and you said you have records. Jack I think you should go to Torchwood and go through them, like you originally planned."

"Fine," Jack kicked the table, knocking it over and to the side of the bed. Before Mickey could stop her, Martha punched Jack hard in the arm and Jack grabbed her throat in one hand, curling his other hand into a fist again. Her eyes went wide as she reached up and grabbed his wrist in both of her hands. Mickey started to run forward, but the Doctor held him back. Physical intervention was only going to make this worse. 

"Jack please let go," The Doctor begged softly. Jack and Martha stared each other in the eyes for a moment longer, as Jack's hand tightened around her throat. "Please Jack." Jack looked at the Doctor with just his eyes. Jack released her, pushing her down hard on to the floor in the process, before storming out of the medi-bay. Martha gasped for breath on the floor as Mickey finally pulled free of the Doctor's hand and rushed to her side. 

"I never want to see that blood immortal again," Martha hissed in between breaths. The Doctor and Mickey exchanged glances as the Doctor settled back to rest. He needed to recover and quickly if he wanted to be able to save the world. Right now though, he would settle for just being able to save his friends.

-DW-

Jack sped the entire way back to the Torchwod hub. He paid no attention to stop signs, red lights or people crossing the road. Twice he had to swerve to avoid hitting another and the third time he took off the side view mirror on both of the vehicles. He rolled down the window and swore at the person as he continued to drive. He made it to Torchwood in record time and stopped the SUV in the plaza out front. 

Storming his way into the visitor center, he slammed the door and the frame and the glass rattled violently. He stomped his way to the secret entrance to the hub and entered the main room. Sitting on the floor, near the computer, was Gwen. She was eating a pizza and another pizza box was empty beside her. She took a big bite as she looked up at Jack.

"Where is the body," he snipped. 

"In the morgue," she answered with her mouth full. Without swallowing the first bite she took a second and then a third, trying to chew around them. Jack looked at her in disgust as he contemplated adding another body to the morgue to be autopsied. He shook his head and hurried out of the room, heading down to the archives. He told himself the entire way that he couldn't shoot Gwen. It didn't stop the voice though that started as a whisper, but was growing louder, that kept telling him he could.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack stood bloody over what use to be the body of a heavy set man. To say that he had butchered the autopsy would be an understatement. In his angry of not finding anything wrong with the man, he had hit the corpse several times. The arms and legs had several new bends in them and the top of the mans head was missing. The brain now sat on a small tray along with the stomach, liver and the man's heart. Jack planned to look at them in more detail at a later time. For now though he cleaned the blood off his hands and placed the body back in one of the morgue drawers. The organs he placed in another drawer, before heading up to the showers to wash.

In his hurry to perform the autopsy, he hadn't bothered with any protective gear and his clothes were ruined. He would have to send Gwen out to purchase more. Thinking of needing new clothes brought his thoughts to Ianto and how Ianto had bought his clothes as well as coats without ever having to get his size. He missed the Welshman terribly and hated the aliens who took the man from him. Angrily he punched the tile wall and broke not only the tile, but at least two of his fingers in the process. He screamed in anger and punched the wall again and again. When he turned off the shower, blood still ran down the drain from his destroyed hand. He cried out in pain as he pulled his fingers straight again and then wrapped a clean cloth around them. The energy that kept him alive would ensure they healed within a few hours but in the mean time they hurt.

He wrapped the towel around his waist and headed down to the Medical room. On the way he passed by Gwen, who had finished the two pizzas and had procured a chocolate cake. She was sitting in nearly the same place and digging her fist into the cake, shoving the chocolate mess into her mouth. Jack reached down for his gun and cursed as he couldn't grip the gun with his broken fingers. It was then he realized he was being an idiot. If he killed her who would be able to go out and get him new clothes?

"Gwen," he snapped and she looked up from her chocolate mess. "I need a new shirt, trousers, and coat, pronto."

"Yes Jack," She replied around her mouthful of cake. He felt a little better as he turned and headed into the medical room. He could kill her in a few hours and then he would have her on his autopsy table. He wondered if perhaps he should kill Martha to as he retrieved the pills for his hand.

-DW-

"Mickey," the Doctor moaned upon waking again in the TARDIS medi-bay. Martha was no where in sight and for that he was thankful. That also meant though he would have to put his care into the hands of Mickey the idiot. He shuddered slightly. While Mickey was no longer the sniveling young man who had held on to Rose and begged her not to go, he was no doctor.

"Yes boss," Mickey asked approaching the bed and taking his hand.

"I need you to help me." The Doctor stated.

"I will go and get Martha. She just went down for a kip, but told me to wake her if you needed anything." Mickey tried to let go of his hand, but he held it tightly.

"No," The Doctor almost begged. "I will walk you through it. Just don't get Martha." He didn't want to tell Mickey that he was the only one he trusted at the moment. He just hoped Mickey understood enough about what was going on to know that getting Martha was a very bad idea, even if she had said otherwise.

"What do you need boss?" Mickey asked and the Doctor sighed in relief.

"My chest feels stuffy. I need you to check the drain and make sure it is not blocked." The Doctor commented. "Martha should have marked the last time she checked. Make sure it has produced fluid since then."

"It is fine." Mickey told him making a face. "Though the skin around it is a little red."

"I am on antibiotics. That should prevent infection." The Doctor responded. "Now I need a piece of paper and a pen." Mickey retrieved them and he watched as the Doctor made a short list. "All these things should be in my science lab. I also need my thinking glasses and sonic."

"What are they for?" Mickey asked as he read the list.

"I am going to make a new pair of void glasses."

"For Jack?" Mickey wondered and the Doctor shook his head.

"No, for you. I need you to try to find the man before Jack does and see if he has void particles around him." The Doctor explained. "He may be from another universe and if he is we have to get him back and close the breach before he destroys this universe or more things come through the breach."

"I hate to say it Doc, but maybe Jack is right and we should just kill him. What if you are wrong and he isn't from another universe?" Mickey commented.

"Then we will evaluate how you are not infected, but the longer you argue me, the longer it will take." The Doctor huffed and Mickey rushed out of the room. He found the items the Doctor had requested and then checked on Martha. He was happy to see that she was still sound asleep.

He had lied to the Doctor when he said she had gone down for a kip voluntarily. In truth he had sedated her when she began to scare him with her talk of repeatedly killing Jack. He walked over to her bedside table and picked up the glass bottle and syringe. He inserted the syringe into the vial and drew another dose. Using great care he stuck the needle into her arm and gave her the injection. He fixed the blankets around her and kissed her softly on the head before heading back to the Doctor.

"Here you are boss," Mickey smiled. He pulled a small table out and set it across the Doctor's bed, before placing the items he requested on it. While the Doctor worked, Mickey got his laptop out and pulled up the local news. Crime had soared in Cardiff. Shootings, rapes, violent crimes, as well as theft were up. They had found several more families sitting in their homes waiting for death. There was also a news story of a man who had ate himself to death at a local pizza place. Worse all over England crime was up. Mickey closed his laptop and looked at the Doctor working diligently on the bed. He just hoped the Doctor could save the Earth before they were the only two left.

The Doctor dropped his sonic for the third time as he grew tired, but he was bound and determined to finish the glasses. Mickey picked it up and handed it to him and as he reached for it he miss judged the distance and grabbed thin air instead.

"Maybe you should take a break," Mickey said in concern as he brought the sonic to meet the Doctor's hand.

"I am almost done and then Martha can sedate me for awhile." The Doctor responded as the pain rolled through him. He felt sick and knew Mickey was right, but if he stopped working now, he didn't know when he would feel well enough to pick up the project again and every moment counted. The longer they took to find the man, the more people who would become infected and the less hope they had of saving the Earth. He had no choice but to work through the pain. He took a deep breath and then gasped as a sharp pain in his left lung stole his breath and left him gasping.

"That's it, you need to stop." Mickey reached for the sonic and glasses.

"No," He gasped as he grabbed Mickey's wrist. He held it tight enough as the pain flared that he had to be hurting Mickey. To Mickey's credit though he didn't pull away or flinch as he let the Doctor hold on until the pain subsided.

"Can I at least give you something to help the pain?" Mickey asked in concern as the grip on his wrist loosened. He looked at his arm and saw bruises beginning to form, from where the Doctor had been holding on. He didn't comment on them though, as he pulled his shirt sleeve lower to hide them from the man.

"Yes, there is a small bottle in the cabinet marked with a small red dot and the Greek letter Alpha." He informed Mickey. Mickey headed to the cupboard and dug it out.

"This one boss?" Mickey asked.

"Yes. I can take two of those pills and they will help with the pain." The Doctor held out a shaky hand to Mickey. Mickey opened the bottle and took out two of the pills he placed them in the Doctor's hand and then helped him to take a drink of water. The Doctor collapsed back against the pillows, closing his eyes. For a minute Mickey hoped he had gone to sleep but he opened his eyes again and picked back up his project. His hands were still shaking slightly as he worked and he squinted at the project.

Twice he put on the glasses and both times saw nothing unusual surrounding Mickey. Even though he hadn't made the last pair of glasses, he knew the basic concept of how they worked. It was simply a matter of getting right and at this moment he felt to thick headed to get anything right. Finally the third time he put the glasses on he saw the little black particles that made up the void. Taking them off he handed them to Mickey.

"Try these on." He whimpered. Mickey put them on his face and smiled.

"I see them." He took them off again and then reached for the medicine that would help the Doctor sleep. "You've punished yourself enough Doc, time to rest." He drew up a dose into the syringe and the Doctor didn't fight as he settled down against the pillows to sleep. Mickey took the glasses and left the Medi-bay. He locked the door on the way out and hoped that Martha would stay asleep while he was gone. He didn't want her to wake up and find herself alone with the Doctor.

Exiting the TARDIS, Mickey looked at the bright sunny day and wondered how such a beautiful day could be hell. Even now, across the street from him, a man was choking another man as onlookers hurried past. A woman was down on her knees nearby partially blocked by a trash bin. The look on the man's face she was kneeling in front of, told Mickey enough.

Moving away from the TARDIS and into the crowded streets of Cardiff, he put the glasses on and then pulled them off again, rubbing his eyes. The Doctor must have done something wrong to the glasses, Mickey was sure of it. He cleaned the glasses off and then put them back on his face. Even as his mind told him it wasn't possible, he knew that it was.

All around him were men, wearing black suits. They stood near by and pointed at the people who were acting abnormally. Mickey couldn't hear what they were saying but he could see them clearly with the glasses. All of them were surrounded by void particles and the particles danced around them. Looking around Mickey spotted the man with the skeleton hands that the Doctor had told him about. With the glasses though the Man didn't even look close to human. His face was skeletal also and thin. His eyes were black and his skin was pale. He turned to look at Mickey and Mickey took the glasses off as he backed up. The man smiled at him and even without the glasses, he saw the sinisterness of the smile.

He breathed deeply and then looked at Mickey confused. He sniffed the air several more times, like a dog trying to pick up a scent. Moving closer he kept sniffing.

"Who are you?" Mickey asked trying to keep his voice steady, even as he took several steps back and away from the man. The man sniffed again and then turned his attention to the couple on the street. The woman was now bending over against the wall. While the skeletal man was distracted, Mickey ran for him and tried to grab him. The man lifted his hand and placed two fingers on Mickey's forehead.

"Pride," He hissed. "Delicious." He was pushed firmly backwards and he fell, slamming hard into the street. He heard a loud crack and for a moment his vision went fuzzy. Grabbing his head to stop the bleeding Mickey sat up and looked around for the man. He didn't see him though. He grabbed the glasses and placed them on his face. The men were all heading away from him. Getting to his feet, Mickey felt dizzy as he gave chase.

-DW-

The Doctor whimpered and squirmed trying to fight the sedation. At least in his mind he did. Anyone looking into the medi-bay would have seen him laying peacefully on the bed sleeping. Though in his mind he was hoping for Mickey to return and wake him. His dreams had once again brought the ood and this time he was unable to escape their calls. They begged him to come back to the ood sphere as they stood on the pure white snow of their home world.

"Doctor, you must come now," Ood Sigma begged him.

"Leave me alone," he screamed at them and tried to run away from them again. He couldn't run though as the sedation kept him trapped. Even if he did manage to break free, he couldn't become human again. His body was too weak and to even try would result in his death and that was exactly what he was trying to avoid. He was only on his Tenth body... give or take... and he wanted to live. Screaming he finally managed to force his eyes open.

The medi-bay lights had been lowered and he could sense a couple of hours had passed though it only felt like he had been asleep for a few minutes. He was out of breath and his lung hurt as he fought to regain it. His body felt as though he had been running non stop for days and he twisted and groaned as he panted. He needed to calm down and breathe.

"Mick..." He tried to call out but he couldn't get the word completely out. Panic filled him and as he panicked, his breathing became worse.

*No,* he screamed in his mind. He was a Time Lord and he was above such things. He wasn't going to panic like some ape. He was going to calm down and control his breathing. He just needed to calm down. Even as he thought the words though, his blood oxygen levels dropped and he slipped into unconsciousness.

-DW-

Mickey followed the men through the city. Every where they went chaos ensued. He watch a man, walking normally down the street, suddenly slam a woman against the wall and steal her purse. Rather then screaming though, she pulled her high heels off and chased the man. Mickey watched surprised as she caught up to him and embedded her high heel deep into the man's back. The man howled in pain as she calmly took her purse and headed on her way again. The man with the skeletal hands took a deep breath and smacked his lips in happiness.

"Anger," He hummed to himself as he kept walking. Mickey ran to catch up to him, but every time he was close, one of the men would block his way causing him to fall behind. He grew frustrated and tried to shove the man out of the way, but his hands went straight through the man. Confused Mickey tried to grab one of the men in suits arms and his hand passed clean through.

"You're not really her," Mickey concluded as he stepped through the man on his way to the one with the skeletal hands. The skeletal man was watching him with interest as he approached. Mickey reached out and tried to grab him, but the man just laughed at him.

"Why are you doing this?" Mickey asked as he tried again and failed to grab the man's arm.

"So hungry," The man hissed.

"You eat feelings?" Mickey wondered in surprise as he stopped. The man said nothing as he turned towards a young couple. Mickey turned away as the woman undid the man's zipper and then slid her own trousers down. The direction he turned wasn't much better though as he watched two women fighting over a dress. Nearby a man was taking a leak on the wall and was slammed against it. The attacker kicked the man repeatedly.

"Hey stop that," Mickey yelled at him, running closer to help the man who was knocked down. The attacker didn't listen and Mickey shoved him out of the way. He tried to help the man up, but the man smacked his hand away as he swore. In thanks for Mickey's help he cursed him and then stumbled drunkenly down the street. Mickey turned around to pursue the man with the skeletal hands again, but he was gone. Swearing himself, Mickey took off running again.

-DW-

Jack cleaned up the autopsy room while he waited for Gwen to return to the hub. If he was going to get clear results, he needed to avoid cross contamination at all cost. A small voice was screaming at him that Gwen was his friend and he couldn't kill her. That small voice was easily ignored though as he thought of the Doctor laying on the bed, his chest bleeding from the stab wound. Gwen had caused it and now she was eating herself sick in victory. She was as bad as the weevils and by figuring out what had caused her to change, he could save the Doctor.

The door to the hub opened and Gwen entered carrying bags of groceries. Her mouth was full of food and she had an open sweet in her hand. Jack smiled as he headed down into the medical room and drew up a syringe of sedative. Sneaking up on her from behind, he plunged the needle into her shoulder and she cried out in surprise.

"Shhh, it will all be over soon," he reassured her as she fought to stay awake. Her movements were quickly becoming sluggish though and her fist barely hit Jack as she tried in vain to keep him away.

"Jack," She whimpered as she fell to the side. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. As he did, his foot bumped one of the bags and he saw a fresh suit inside. He left it where it was for now, no use bloodying another suit, then he would have no clothes. Turning with Gwen still over his shoulder, he headed towards the autopsy room.


	13. Chapter 13

Jack took Gwen down to the autopsy room and laid her on the table. He regarded her for a moment as the voice continued to scream at him not to do it. He removed her clothes and covered with a thin sheet as he grabbed the tools he would need to perform the autopsy. He placed the tray next to the table. He took the sheet off of her and then washed Gwen's body of any grime. Picking up the knife he prepared to make the first incision. His knife touched her skin right as his cell phone rang and he sighed. He considered not answering the phone and just getting back to work. He glanced at the caller Id and saw that it was Mickey calling. Setting down the knife he opened the phone.

"What Mickey?" He snipped.

"Jack I lost the man we are looking for. I need you to check the police reports and let me know where there is chaos happening at this moment." Mickey sounded out of breath as he spoke quickly into the phone.

"I'm busy," He replied simply.

"Then please have Gwen do it." Mickey told him desperately.

"She's out at the moment," Jack stated and then chuckled at his own joke.

"Jack the problem is bigger then we realized. If we don't stop him now, I don't think we are going to get a second chance. I am on my way back to the TARDIS to get the Doctor's opinion, but I need to know where the man is."

"I will get to it within an hour," Jack informed him as he picked up the knife again.

"Now Jack." Mickey snapped.

"Last time I checked Mickey, I was the boss around here, not you." Jack snapped back.

"Please Jack, it is the only hope to save the planet and to save the Doctor. I need you to do this for me." Mickey pleaded trying a different tactic to break through Jack's anger. Jack hung up the phone on Mickey and then looked down at Gwen again. Her chest was bleeding slightly from the small incision mark. Grabbing a piece of gauze, Jack taped it over the incision.

"I will have to finish this later," He told her as he left the room. He turned all of the lights off and locked the door from the outside. He was going to fire Mickey the next time he saw him, for now though he would get his blood information. Seething he sat down at the computer and began to type.

-DW-

Mickey ran to the TARDIS, by the time he reached it, he was out of breath and sweating. His side ached and he was pretty sure his legs had gone numb. He couldn't think about stopping or slowing down now though. The world was in more danger then any of them had originally realized. Not only did they have to stop the man with the skeletal hands they also had to stop an army of men that they couldn't see. He had the only pair of glasses that allowed him to see them and the Doctor didn't have the time or the strength to make more.

Mickey hurried into the medi-bay and was concerned to see the Doctor laying at an odd angle on the bed. The bandaged side of his chest was pressed firmly into the mattress and even though he was passed out, his hearts were beating fast. His breathing was also quick and shallow. Sweat covered the Time Lord's brow and Mickey wondered if he had ever seen him sweat.

"Shit," Mickey swore as he rushed over to the bed and got the Doctor back on to his back. The Doctor cried out in pain as he was moved and his eyes opened a crack to look at Mickey before rolling back in his head again. "No, no, no, don't do that Doctor."

The Doctor didn't respond again as he breathing evened out more. It was still shallower then normal, but it was slower. His hearts returned to a normal pace and his whole body visually relaxed against the mattress. Mickey got a clean cloth and dabbed the Doctor's brow.

"I need you to wake up now, Doctor. Help us." Mickey tried. Whether the Doctor heard him or not was unclear as the monitors didn't change. Mickey didn't think he did though. Awake, help us, were two words that the Doctor didn't usually ignore. Mickey stroked his head softly. "We need you Doctor. Please wake up and help us before it is too late."

The Doctor still didn't respond. Mickey thought for a moment of going to wake Martha up, but he couldn't risk it. Martha was too out of control and he could handle this himself. He wasn't the afraid young man who had cowered behind Rose. No, he was the man who had fought Daleks and cyberman. He had helped Peter rebuild Torchwood in the other universe and helped Jack in the field here. He was married to Martha Jones and together they protected the world. He could stop the man with the skeletal hands even if he had to do it by himself. Mickey sighed. Now he understood why the skeletal man had said he was full of pride. His cell phone rang and he answered it.

"There have been a series of burglaries in the last hour in Downtown Cardiff. Next time do your own bloody research." Jack yelled angrily over the phone.

"What were you doing that was so bloody important?" Mickey asked angrily back and Jack hung up on him.

"Mickey," the Doctor whimpered and Mickey hurried to his side. "Don't let the anger get to you to."

"I won't boss. Now that you are awake though, you need to know that there isn't just one man. There are at least a dozen of them and they follow him around causing the mischief. How can we stop them?" Mickey questioned him.

"Are you sure that there was more then one of them?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow to him. The Doctor had researched the previous planet extensively. There was never any evidence of anyone being alive until he found the strange man. Even then there was only the one man. If Mickey was seeing more, something had changed. Something wasn't right.

Mickey thought about his question. He had questioned if the men were there from the beginning. Was it an illusion that the man was able to play? He looked at the Doctor confused and then shrugged.

-DW-

Jack slammed his fist angrily into the wall of his office. He had found Mickey's information but that didn't matter, when he should not have had to look in the first place. It was due to Mickey's incompetence that he had lost the man in the first place. The longer the man with the skeletal hands was out there the longer that earth would be in danger. Jack grabbed the filing cabinet and tipped it over. Papers spilled out across the floor and he kicked them out of his way as he stormed towards the desk. He needed to protect the Doctor as well and now rather then returning to the Doctor's side, he was going to have to go after the man himself. Using his arm, he swept it across his desk causing more paper work and pictures to go flying.

His eyes focused on a picture of Gwen and him. It had been taken at her wedding and she looked happy in the picture. He was going to miss Gwen and all the support she had given him over the years but sacrifices sometimes had to be made to save many. Alice had never forgiven him for using Stephen to stop the aliens. Hell he had never forgiven himself. Time and time again people he knew and loved had died because aliens couldn't leave earth alone. He wasn't going to let that happen again. He was going to stop them this time. Jack returned to the autopsy room to finish what he began. The voice was louder this time, screaming at him not to do it. He had to though.

*Killing Gwen isn't the way,* the voice screamed at him. He opened the door and walked slowly to the table where she still laid. Her chest was rising and falling slowly from the deep sleep the sedative had placed her in. He drew up a second dose, stronger this time. Injected into her vein she would continue to sleep as her heart failed. He didn't want her to suffer any more then she all ready was. He caressed her hair back from her forehead. She looked peaceful in her sleep. Taking her arm he found a vein and carefully pushed the needle in.

*Stop it* the voice cried out. He paused with his finger on the syringe, ready to give her the fatal dose. He looked at her again. Sleeping she wasn't filling him with anger. He almost felt sorry for what the aliens were making him do. If earth hadn't been invaded again, he wouldn't have to kill her in order to save the planet. Gwen had been his friend. He kissed her softly on the head as he emptied the syringe into her arm. Over the next few minutes her breathing became softer and softer until finally her chest stopped moving all together. Jack picked up the scalpel and set to work.

He was carefuller with this autopsy then the last. Making sure that he examined all of the organs and looking for anything that could answer his question of what was causing everyone to act out. He knew the man had a part in it but there had to be a chemical, or parasite, or something that was causing it. He made sure to take samples of blood and tissue to test later as he again wasn't seeing a cause of the excessive hunger. He had to find one though. Finishing up, he set the blade down and wiped the blood off of his hands. He sewed her chest back up and covered her with the sheet again. Exiting the room he took the samples out with him.

He showered and then dressed before retrieving the two sets of samples he had. The Doctor wasn't doing anything but laying in bed lazily and Jack could set him to work analyzing the samples and hopefully they would finally get some answers. He was sick of not having answers. After the Doctor finished the analyse he was going to find the man causing the problems and he was going to kill him by himself if he had to. He put the samples in the SUV and then got behind the wheel. He sped around the people in traffic, swerving and cutting them off. As he stopped at a red light, one of the men got out of the car and pounded on his window. He opened the door and got out.

"I have kids in the car," the man screamed at him.

"Then maybe you should learn how to drive," Jack yelled back. The man threw the first punch, but Jack was quicker. He easily knocked the guy off of his feet and then kicked him hard in the stomach. The man wheezed as he tried to breathe and Jack kicked him again. The light turned green and horns blared at him as people leaned out of their windows swearing. He ignored them as he kicked the man in the head and the man fell limp. Jack brushed his coat off and climbed back into the SUV. Calmly he placed the SUV into drive and continued on his way to the TARDIS. He found it exactly where he had left it. He grabbed the samples and headed quickly inside. The TARDIS thrummed angrily at him as he entered and he kicked her coral. She blasted him with cold air.

"I am allowed in here now." He hissed at her. He placed his hand on the railing and then pulled back as she shocked him. "I have no idea what your problem is but you better knock it off before I dismantle you." He threatened. He headed to the medi-bay and then tried the door. It was locked.

"Open up," he screamed as he pounded on the door. When the door opened Mickey stood in his way. Behind him the Doctor was laying on the bed, his eyes wide in terror.

"You aren't coming in here unless you calm down Jack." Mickey crossed his arms ready to defend the Doctor in his weakened stated.

"I don't need in there. I need the Doctor to get off his lazy arse and analyze these samples." Jack snapped as he shoved the bag at Mickey.

"He is sick Jack. He can't leave the bed to analyze samples and Martha is sleeping and can't do it either. The samples are going to have to wait a little while." Mickey informed him, trying to keep his voice even.

"Don't make me go through you." Jack pushed Mickey and he rocked slightly but didn't move from defending the Doctor. The door slammed shut as the TARDIS closed it to keep the Doctor safe. Jack screamed and slammed his fist against the doors.

"Let me see the samples." The Doctor called out from the bed.

"You need to rest," Mickey advised him as he headed back to the Doctor's side.

"I am resting." He rolled his eyes and took the bag off of Mickey. He opened the bag and looked inside at the clearly labeled vials. He felt himself grow colder as he saw the names John Doe and Gwen Cooper. "Jack what did you do?" He whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

Mickey noticed how pale the Doctor turned as he looked at the samples Jack brought in. It was hard to think though with Jack pounding on the door. He had gone past anger to pure fury as they continued to refuse him entry in to the medi-bay. He was screaming death threats through the door and demanding to see the Doctor.

"I need to go to the lab," The Doctor whispered. 

"You can barely sit up, you can't go to the lab. If you are worried about Jack's temper, I don't think going to the lab is going to calm him down." Mickey tried as he worked to keep the Doctor laying down. He glanced back at the doors as a loud crashing sound erupted in the bay, followed by Jack swearing. 

"He can't break the doors down and the TARDIS isn't going to let him in. But Mickey I have to analyze these samples before anyone else dies at his hands. If I can find a way to cure Jack, maybe I can help the Earth." The Doctor sat up, wincing in pain as he did. He began to take short quick breaths as his left lung felt as though it was failing to inflate properly. He grabbed his chest and tried to calm his breathing as he turned and swung his legs off the bed. He quickly became light headed and almost crashed to the floor. Thankfully Mickey was standing close enough that he was able to catch him. Mickey carefully lowered him to the floor, before scooping him up carefully to place him back on the bed. He screamed in pain. 

"I'm sorry Doctor," Mickey apologized as he deposited the Doctor back on the bed. The Doctor's eyes rolled up and he fought not to pass out as Mickey took the samples off of him. 

"Don't," He cried out. 

"I have helped Martha a few times in the lab Doc, I won't contaminate the samples." Mickey reassured him. He opened the samples and looked in. Gwen's name popped out at him immediately. "No." 

"Mickey." The Doctor grabbed for the samples. 

"He wouldn't. Jack and Gwen were friends." Mickey stammered. The Doctor just hung his head. "Martha, I sedated her Doc. I have to get her and make sure she is all right." Mickey rushed towards the door. 

"The TARDIS will protect Martha and make sure she isn't harmed. But I have to get to the lab. We need to stop this now Mickey. Now either you help me or stay out of my way." The Doctor advised him as he sat up again. 

"I will help you." Mickey returned to the bed. With shaking arms he lifted the Doctor out of bed. He tried to ignore the screams that accompanied moving the Doctor and how pale the man was. Mickey carried the Doctor the short distance to his lab and set him down in the chair. He held the Doctor as the Doctor gripped the arms of the chair, gritting his teeth with his eyes closed tightly as he waited for the pain to pass. 

"Tell me what you need." Mickey said as the Doctor's grip finally loosened. 

"I need an injection of my pain killers." The Doctor told him. 

"You just had one not to long ago." Mickey replied. 

"I can have another small dose. Please Mickey help me to save Earth." He begged. Mickey nodded. They had no choice. He drew up a smaller dose of the Doctor's pain killers. The Doctor barely reacted as Mickey injected him in his shoulder. The extra pain medication should have been a relief, but it barely touched the amount of pain he was in. Trying not to reveal his continued pain to Mickey, he grabbed a clean pair of gloves for himself.

He tried not to think about the ood calling out to him. Their calls were not as strong as before but they were still there. He also tried not to think about all the people he would fail, if he didn't figure out a cure in time. With Martha sedated and Jack overwhelmed with anger, the fate of the world was down to himself and Mickey the idiot. Though he realized there was few people who had proven themselves more to him. He smiled as without being asked to, Mickey pulled on a pair of gloves and began to separate out the blood samples. Silently the two of them set to work. 

-DW-

"Doctor," Jack yelled angrily through the door. He rammed his shoulder against the door again, but the doors refused to budge. The TARDIS was keeping him out and he hated her for it. He stormed away from the medi-bay and to the control room to her console. He barely laid a finger on it when a shock passed through his body. His body shook with the energy and he found himself unable to pull away. His world went black.

He gasped in his first breath a few minutes later. Sitting up from the TARDIS floor he kicked her captains chair before pulling himself to his feet. The TARDIS thrummed angrily at him and cold air blew on his back. Turning around, Jack found that the door to the corridors was gone. The only way out of the control room was back onto the streets of Cardiff. 

"Fine I don't need your help. I will save the planet all on my own." Jack seethed at her. He kicked the console before turning away from it. Heading down the ramp he exited on to the streets of Cardiff again. The doors to the TARDIS slammed shut behind him. He stormed over to his SUV. The windows had been broken out and the radio as well as anything valuable was gone. 

"Who did this?" He screamed at a group of people across the street. Pulling out his gun he aimed at them.

"Calm down man." One held his hands up. They obviously weren't taking him seriously enough. Jack took no mercy as he shot the man clean between the eyes. The man's body fell to the ground. Several of the group screamed and scattered in all directions. Two of the females of the group ran towards a small black car. 

"Is that your car?" He asked one of the females, she shook her head. "Give me the keys to it now." The second female reached into her purse and pulled the keys out. Jack snatched them and then opened the car door. He climbed in and started the engine, gunning it, he pealed out. He had a man to catch.

The car Jack had stolen was more then a little beat up as he finally made it to the last known place of the man. He had taken little care in making sure not to hit anything and the driver's side mirror had been busted off in a close encounter with a truck. Jack didn't care though. He checked to see how many bullets were still in the gun, before exiting the car. He was going to put a stop to this once and for all. He refilled his gun as he walked and then placed it in it's holster.

The streets were busy and more then one window had been broken out in neighboring shops. Chaos was everywhere as people looted the small shops, trampling one another in the process. No one had any regard for the other. Standing near the crowd the man watched, smiling, as he took long deep breaths. Jack pulled his gun out again as he ran forward. A man got in his way and Jack slammed his shoulder in to him, causing him to fall to the ground. The man screamed but they were quickly turned into cries of pain as he became another victim of the carelessness. 

Jack walked straight up to the man with the skeletal hands. His gun point blank at the mans forehead. He didn't hesitate as he emptied the chamber. He lowered the gun as the man continued to stare at him with a smile on his face. Jack looked behind the man, his anger slightly faded due to the confusion he was feeling. The wall behind the man was riddled with bullet holes, but the man himself was untouched. Jack looked back at the man as he hissed.

"Anger." The man licked his lips and leaned closer to Jack, breathing in the scent. Jack swung and felt his hand go through cool air. Again and again he tried to hit the man, and touched nothing. The man didn't move or try to defend himself as every swing missed. Jack seethed again. He had to save the earth and defend the Doctor and here the man was making a fool out of him. He swung again. Shock filled him as the man caught his wrist. 

He screamed in pure agony as pain seared through his body and he felt as though every part of his body was on fire. He tried to pull away but it was to no avail, he screamed again and again. Falling to his knees shadows surrounded him. As they moved closer he could see the outlines of other men. They all wore the same suit and moved in on him. The fire filling in body subsided as the men leaned in. He swung and kicked at them, but just like before, he connected with nothing. He felt two hands press against his temples and with a final scream of anger, his world went black. 

-DW-

The Doctor and Mickey ran test on the samples that they had been given. Mickey tried not to think of the fact that it was Gwen, he was testing. If he did that, he would let the anger get to him and go after Jack bare handed. He knew it was a fight that he couldn't win though. The TARDIS thrummed and the Doctor reached over and rubbed her wall gently.

"Thank you old girl," He cooed before turning to look at Mickey. "Martha is showing signs she is waking up. Rather then sedate her again, I think it would be in her best interest if she was brought to the medi-bay and restrained to one of the beds." 

"Why?" Mickey wondered. 

"That way we can keep an eye on her and work. Sedating her is not a cure. In the medi-bay we can draw blood and see if her levels of adrenaline are also high due to her anger." The Doctor replied

"So you have an idea what is causing this?" Mickey asked hopefully. If anyone could find the parasite, bug, or disease causing the people to act out, it was the Doctor. Mickey just prayed that they could make an antidote in time before it destroyed everyone they knew and loved. He wondered if Martha had checked on her family recently, but with the way she was acting he doubted it. 

"Both Gwen and the man had levels of ghrelin in their systems that I have never witnessed before in a human." The Doctor told Mickey as he leaned back slightly in his chair. He winced and placed a hand to his ribs as if he could support them while he struggled to breathe properly. 

"What does the mean exactly?" Mickey asked.

"It means that their bodies were telling their minds that they were starving, even though they both had eaten large quantities of food." The Doctor explained. "Why the levels had risen though, I don't know." 

Mickey felt his face fall as all his hopes of a solution were dashed. The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck and then leaned forward again. He grabbed one of the slides they had prepared and slid it under the microscope. Whether or not he noticed Mickey's disappointment was unclear as he had work to do if he was going to find a cure in time. He didn't want to worry Mickey and tell him that the pain was flaring in his body and he was growing tired. Also the more in depth he was studying the samples the less hope he had of finding a cure. The TARDIS was keeping all of her screen communications in Gallifreyan to him so that Mickey couldn't read it and none of the information he received was reassuring. He had asked before how you stop human nature and he meant it. 

"I will go get Martha," Mickey said at last. He left the Doctor in the lab for a moment as he headed out of the medi-bay. He hesitated slightly, expecting Jack to appear, but the TARDIS was silent. He went to Martha's room and picked her up in his arms cradling her to him. He kissed her softly on the head. Asleep she looked like the wife he had fallen in love with. The one who was full of life and didn't let anger rule her every thoughts. She had given him a family again after his grams had died and they had been talking of having children before the anger overwhelmed her. He laid her on the bed furthest from the labs and the Doctor's bed. Restraining her to the bed, he made sure that the straps weren't too tight. 

"Do you know how to draw blood?" The Doctor asked as he watched out of the lab doors. 

"Yes," Mickey responded. 

"Then I need to vials please." The Doctor kept his voice professional as he turned back to his work. Mickey went to the cupboard and got out a syringe and two vials. He found a vein in Martha's arm and was filling the first one when she began to stir. He quickly filled the second one as she opened her eyes and glared at him.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing Mickey? Untie me now." She demanded as she immediately began to fight against the restraints. 

"Saving you," Mickey answer. He took the blood to the Doctor and then headed to the loo. Closing the door tightly behind him, he splashed water on his face and then stared at himself in the mirror. He didn't know how much more he could take, but if the Doctor could work through the pain he was trying desperately to hide, then Mickey would help him. He didn't see another choice.


	15. Chapter 15

Over and over Jack felt himself dying and being brought back. The shadows continued to overwhelm him as his anger blazed. He couldn't move and he couldn't breathe. Each time he suffocated in pain as whispers filled his ears. They hissed and laughed but he never actually saw any faces. He tried to yell at them to leave him alone but black mist filled his lungs. His thoughts became blurred again and once again the darkness overwhelmed him.

-DW-

The Doctor rubbed his temples. Test after test that he was running on the blood showed that there was no cause for the increase in the chemicals that affected people's moods. He should have remained in bed, healing from the stab wound, but instead for the last week he had stayed in the lab as long as possible. Dosing himself with pain killers. He had ruled out parasites, bacteria and drugs released into the air. He was at a loss of what was causing it. 

Martha continued to rage in the medi-bay and there had been no sign of Jack since he had brought over the samples. Mickey stayed by his side trying to find a cure as the rest of the world was dying around them. There were now reports as far away as China of people acting out. They had also discovered that by the time the initial reports came in in Cardiff, it was all ready to late to stop the infection. The first known fatality of sitting down and dying had come not from Cardiff, but from a small town in Poland. 

The world was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The call of the ood was fading as more and more deaths were reported and finally the Doctor could think straight without having to listen to them telling him to come back to the ood sphere. He had managed to live but at what cost. If he had listened to them in the first place would the world had lived. 

The Doctor stood and walked slowly out of the medi-bay and to the control room. Mickey was sitting on the ground next to the railing bouncing a ball against the TARDIS wall. He watched the ball bounce off the wall and Mickey catch it again. He moved to sit next to Mickey and Mickey bounced the ball so that it came towards him instead. Quietly they played the game for awhile until Mickey finally spoke up. 

"What happens now Boss?" He asked quietly. 

"Now, we save as many people as possible. We also need to find Jack and I am going to place him in my cryogenics chamber until I can find a way to cure him of his anger." The Doctor replied. 

"Do you think you will be able to?" Mickey wondered. 

"Yes," he answered positively but in truth he didn't know for sure. History had changed. Mankind wasn't suppose to be dying off in the twenty-first century but were suppose to one day find Utopia at the end of the universe. What happened to change it he wasn't sure, and he would likely never find his answers. 

For the next month as the Earth died around them, they jumped all over the world looking for anybody who wasn't affected by the infection. In total they only found a little over a dozen. Just fifteen men and women who didn't give into the anger or laziness, or hunger. Fifteen frightened humans who he took aboard his TARDIS and gave them a home for the time being. He didn't know if and when he could ever let them live on Earth again but he would at least find a place they could call home. 

He found Jack dying over and over again at the hands of some of the invisible men. They seemed to be living off of his anger as he died and revived. It took some tricky maneuvering with the TARDIS but he managed to materialize around Jack and leave the men outside. He sedated Jack immediately and had Mickey carry him down to be frozen. He would wake Jack when he could save him, but in the mean time it was safer for everyone aboard if they locked Jack's anger away. 

The final person he saved was Donna. Due to her Time Lord energy stored in her body she was unaffected by the changes to everyone around her. He also sedated her and she was being cared for in the Medi-bay until he could safely find a way to remove the energy from her and allow her to live. He couldn't let her burn up, and he hoped soon that he would have his best friend back. 

It saddened him that off all his companions he was only able to save the four. The rest had been affected by whatever was hurting the earth long before he could reach them. It had taken the first planet just about two months to fall, Earth only took about a month and half. He was continuing to research what happened hoping to find away to contain the man before any other planets fell. He sent the TARDIS up into space to orbit the Earth. From up above the Earth looked peaceful, just a spinning blue marble in the cosmos. On the planet's surface though he knew the truth and soon the last of the infected humans would be dying. Then and only then would he look one last time for survivors. 

"What happens to human history now?" Mickey asked coming up behind him. 

"I don't know."


End file.
